Abstract
Attempts to modify experimentally the variegated phenotypes of the mutantsz inDrosophila melanogaster andw m2 inD. hydei, were largely unsuccessful. Transplanted eyes ofz were found to be more intensely pigmented, but this effect was not influenced by treatment of the imaginal disks or by the host's genotype. Inw m2, increased pigmentation was observed after treatment with 5-bromo-uracil.
Thew m2 phenotype is strongly modified by supernumerary Y chromosomes. One Y shifts the eye colour from yellow to brown, two Y's, to dark red. In the Malpighian tubules, two Y's have a similarly strong effect, but one Y a slight effect only. Malpighian tubules ofw m2 larvae were used for a quantitative analysis of mottling. An average clonal cluster size of 1.1 was found. This indicates that the state of pigmentation is determined around the last cell division in the embryo.
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Gloor, H., van Breugel, F.M.A. & Volkers, W.S. Some observations on variegation inDrosophila . Genetica 38, 95–114 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01507451
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01507451