Position-effect variegation and z1 mediated white repression in the In(1)wis system in Drosophila melanogaster.

We have characterized a new X-chromosomal inversion in Drosophila melanogaster, extending from just distal of white to just proximal of the bb locus. The inversion places the w-isoxanthopterinless (wis) allele close to heterochromatin and under the influence of position-effect variegation (PEV). The wis gene activity is also regulated by chromosome pairing-dependent z1-mediated repression.

Uptake and incorporation in pteridines of externally supplied GTP in normal and pigment-deficient eyes of Drosophila melanogaster.

Some aspects of the synthesis of drosopterins in the eyes of Drosophila melanogaster have been studied in flies with different levels of white gene expression. The activity of GTP cyclohydrolase was found to differ between wild-type and yellow-eyed mutants in vivo but not in vitro. To elucidate the uptake of substrate, we measured the removal of labeled GTP from the incubation medium by excised pupal eyes and followed the subsequent fate of this label.

Biological effects of high-frequency electromagnetic fields on Salmonella typhimurium and Drosophila melanogaster.

Salmonella typhimurium and Drosophila melanogaster were exposed to continuous wave (CW) 2.45-GHz electromagnetic radiation, pulsed 3.10-GHz electromagnetic radiation, CW 27.

Content of histone H1 and histone phosphorylation in relation to the higher order structures of chromatin in Drosophila.

The amount of histone H1 relative to core histones has been determined in three Drosophila species (D. melanogaster, D. texana and D.

Enhanced susceptibility of a transposable-element-bearing strain of Drosophila melanogaster to somatic eye-color mutations by ethyl nitrosourea, methyl nitrosourea, and X-rays.

A strain of Drosophila with the genes z and w+ plus a transposable element (TE) is about 3 times more sensitive than a strain without TE toward somatic eye-color mutations after larval exposure to ethyl nitrosourea, methyl nitrosourea and X-rays. The assay system with TE is simple, reliable, and sensitive for detecting somatic mutations induced in vivo by mutagens.

Genetic instability in Drosophila melanogaster: evidence for regulation, excision and transposition at the white locus.

An unstable long tandem duplication which includes the white locus twice, marked with wsp in the left and w17g in the right locus, when kept in males has been found to produce red-eyed sons which have lost the long duplication and with it the wsp and w17g mutants. Such exceptions were produced also when w17g had been exchanged for wa. Stocks originating from these exceptions are unstable, producing: 1) zeste males, also unstable, 2) w- deletions, stable, 3) transpositions of the white locus to sites in other chromosomes.

A negative test for mutagenic action of microwave radiation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Microwave radiation (2450 MHz CW) was tested for mutagenicity in Drosophila melanogaster. Embryos in water were exposed to the electromagnetic field with a mean specific absorption rate of 100 W/kg. A sensitive somatic test system was used, in which mutagenicity was measured as the frequency of somatic mutations for eye pigmentation.

The use of a mutationally unstable X-chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster for mutagenicity testing.

Somatic eye-colour mutations in an unstable genetic system, caused by a transposable element in the white locus of the X-chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, is suggested as an assay system for mutagenicity testing. The system is evaluated by comparison with a corresponding system in a stable X-chromosome. Its sensitivity is confirmed with X-ray and EMS treatment, and it is found to be confined to the specific segment of the X-chromosome where the transposable element is localized.

Mutagenic effects of petrol in Drosophila melanogaster I. Effects of benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane.

Commercial petrol and two of its components, benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane, were tested for mutagenicity in Drosophila melanogaster. The chemicals were given to larvae through their food supply. A genetically unstable sexlinked test system caused by a transposable genetic element was used.

Histone content in relation to amount of heterochromatin and developmental stage in three species of Drosophila.

Relative amounts of various histone fractions in Drosophila chromatin were estimated densitometrically on electrophoretic gel separations. Several consistent and highly significant differences were obtained between larval and adult chromatin. The arginine-rich histones showed the most conspicuous changes: higher amounts of H4 in larvae, higher H3 in adults.