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The expression of maternally-transmitted sex ratio condition (SR) in two strains ofDrosophila melanogaster

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Abstract

A study was made ofwillistoni-SR infections, transmitted for many generations through the maternal line, in two wild-type strains ofD. melanogaster. As in the species of origin, the SR agent is essentially lethal only to males. The twomelanogaster strains differ from each other in the time required for the effects of SR to be expressed, both in terms of the first appearance of SR broods and in the developmental stages at which death of males occurs. Host genotype within a species is thus an important factor in the expression of SR. Host age and breeding temperature are also of consequence in determining the degree to which SR is expressed. In any given instance, the specific expression of SR is determined by complex interactions between host, SR agent, and the environment.

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Counce, S.J., Poulson, D.F. The expression of maternally-transmitted sex ratio condition (SR) in two strains ofDrosophila melanogaster . Genetica 37, 364–390 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01547143

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