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Analysis of genetic variation affecting the relative activities of fast and slow ADH dimers in Drosophila melanogaster heterozygotes

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Abstract

When Adh F/Adh S heterozygote homogenates are stained after electrophoresis, considerable variation is observed in the activity ratio of the FF dimer to the SS dimer. Two Adh S strains showed a sharp, consistent difference when crossed to a common Adh F strain. Optical scanning and genetic analysis confirmed that this difference originates close to the Adh locus. Since the morphs varied concordantly in their activities on numerous alcohols, and since aging and heat-treatment experiments failed to reveal a stability difference, it is proposed that the difference is regulatory in nature, affecting ADH synthesis and primarily cis-acting. A survey of wild flies revealed additional variation in the FF/SS activity ratio. Further genetic analysis showed that the basis of this variation is not restricted to the second chromosome. Furthermore, modification of the activity ratio implies some degree of allelespecificity on the part of the modifiers.

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Author notes

  1. Abraham Grossman

    Present address: Department of Biological Science, The Florida State University, 32306, Tallahassee, Florida

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, The University of Iowa, 52242, Iowa City, Iowa

    Abraham Grossman

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  1. Abraham Grossman
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Additional information

This work was supported in part by money collected by Jewish Community of Iowa City, Iowa, and by NSF Grant 76-01903 to Roger Milkman.

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Grossman, A. Analysis of genetic variation affecting the relative activities of fast and slow ADH dimers in Drosophila melanogaster heterozygotes. Biochem Genet 18, 765–780 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00484592

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00484592

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