[Effect of culture density and degree of expression of the trait "eyeless" and degree of polyteny of giant chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster].

Effects of culture density on expressivity of character eyeless and polyteny of giant chromosomes were studied in Drosophila melanogaster. Larval crowding was shown to significantly reduce eye facets. The expression of eyeless was sex-dependent: in females, this character was expressed more strongly than in males. Larval crowding resulted in a decrease of chromosome polyteny in larval salivary glands. A strong negative correlation was established between the expressivity of eyeless and the degree of giant chromosome polyteny.