Abstract
To elucidate the mechanisms involved in the regulation of uricase activity in Drosophila melanogaster, a comparative analysis of the patterns of uricase activity during development was undertaken for the wild type, Ore-R, and the mutants ry 2 and ma-1. Uricase activity in ry 2 and ma-l, unlike that in Ore-R, increased rapidly following emergence of the adult. This study indicates that uricase in Drosophila, in contrast to that in several microorganisms, is not induced by uric acid, since ry 2 and ma-l with no detectable uric acid have higher activity than the wild type.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Auf der Maur, P. (1961). Experimentell Untersuchungen uber den harnsaure Stoffewechsel bei verschudenen Genotypen von Drosophila melanogaster. Z. Vererbungsl. 9242.
Barrett, D. (1964). Similar accumulation and distribution patterns of two purine oxidizing enzymes in Rana catesbeiana development. Develop. Biol. 10289.
Baudhuin, P., Beaufay, H., Rahman-Li, Y., Sellinger, O. Z., Wattiaux, R., Jacques, P., and DeDuve, C. (1964). Intracellular distribution of monoamine oxidase, aspartate aminotransferase, d-amino acid oxidase and catalase in rat liver. Biochem. J. 92179.
Brown, A. W. A. (1938). The nitrogen metabolism of an insect (Lucilia sericata). I. Uric acid, allantoin and uricase. Biochem. J. 32895.
Collins, J. F., and Glassman, E. (1969). A third locus (lpo) affecting pyridoxal oxidase in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 61833.
Courtright, J. B. (1967). Polygenic control of aldehyde oxidase in Drosophila. Genetics 5753.
Forrest, H. S., Hanly, E. W., and Lagowski, J. M. (1961). Biochemical differences between the mutants rosy-2 and maroon-like of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 461455.
Friedman, T. B. (1971). A study of the effects of mutations at the white, maroon-like and rosy loci on the pattern of uricase activity during development of Drosophila. Doctoral thesis, University of Michigan.
Glassman, E. (1965). Genetic regulation of xanthine dehydrogenase in Drosophila melanogaster. Fed. Proc. 241243.
Glassman, E., and McLean, J. (1962). Maternal effect of ma-l + on xanthine dehydrogenase of Drosophila melanogaster: II. Xanthine dehydrogenase during development. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 481712.
Glassman, E., and Mitchell, H. K. (1959a). Mutants of Drosophila melanogaster deficient in xanthine dehydrogenase. Genetics 44153.
Glassman, E., and Mitchell, H. K. (1959b). Maternal effect of ma-l + on xanthine dehydrogenase of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 44547.
Glassman, E., Shinoda, T., Duke, E. J., and Collins, J. F. (1968). Multiple molecular forms of xanthine dehydrogenase and related enzymes. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 151263.
Hadorn, E. (1958). Contribution to the physiological and biochemical genetics of pteridines and pigments in insects. In X International Congress of Genetics, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, pp. 337–354.
Hruban, Z., and Rechcigl, M. (1969). Microbodies and Related Particles: Morphology, Biochemistry and Physiology, Academic Press, New York.
Hubby, J. L., and Forrest, H. S. (1960). Studies on the mutant maroon-like in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 45211.
Kalckar, H. M. (1947). Differential spectophotometry of purine compounds by means of specific enzymes: I. Determination of hydroxypurine compounds. J. Biol. Chem. 167429.
Locke, M., and McMahon, J. J. (1971). The origin and fate of microbodies in the fat body of an insect. J. Cell Biol. 4861.
Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L., and Randall, R. J. (1951). Protein measurements with the Folin phenol reagent. J. Biol. Chem. 193265.
Mitchell, H. K., Glassman, E., and Hadorn, E. (1959). Hypoxanthine in rosy and maroon-like mutants of Drosophila melanogaster. Science 129268.
Morita, R. (1958). Purine catabolism in Drosophila melanogaster. Science 1281135.
Nelson, M. (1964). Some properties of uricase from the housefly, Musca domestica. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 1237.
Praetorius, E. (1948). The enzymatic conversion of uric acid: Spectrophotometric analysis. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2602.
Razet, P. M. (1953). Recherches sur la localisation des enzyme uricolytiques chez les insectes. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris 2361304.
Rizki, T. M., and Rizki, R. M. (1962). Cytodifferentiation in the rosy mutant of Drosophila melanogaster. J. Cell Biol. 12149.
Scazzocchio, D., and Darlington, A. J. (1968). The induction and repression of the enzymes of purine breakdown in Aspergillus nidulans. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 166557.
Tuskuda, H., Mochizuki, Y., and Konishi, T. (1968). Morphogenesis and development of microbodies of hepatocytes of rats during pre- and post-natal growth. J. Cell Biol. 37231.
Watanabe, Y., and Fukumoto, J. (1970). Studies on the formation of uricase by Streptomyces. II. The induced formation of uricase by resting cells. Agr. Biol. Chem. 341625.
Yen, T. T. T., and Glassman, E. (1965). Electrophoretic variants of xanthine dehydrogenase in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 52977.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was supported by grants from NIH, PHS 5-TO 1 GM 0071-13 and 1F02 HD 50,527-01
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Friedman, T.B. Observations on the regulation of uricase activity during development of Drosophila melanogaster . Biochem Genet 8, 37–45 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485555
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485555