The mutation without children(rgl) causes ecdysteroid deficiency in third-instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster.

Larvae homozygous for the recessive lethal allele without children(rgl) (woc(rgl)) fail to pupariate. Application of exogenous 20-hydroxyecdysone elicits puparium formation and pupation. Ecdysteroid titer measurements on mutant larvae show an endocrine deficiency in the brain-ring gland complex, which normally synthesizes ecdysone, resulting in a failure of the larvae to achieve a threshold whole body hormone titer necessary for molting. Ultrastructural investigation revealed extensive degeneration of the prothoracic cells of the ring gland in older larvae. The woc gene, located in polytene chromosomal region 97F, consists of 11 exons. A 6.8-kb transcript is expressed throughout development but is absent in the mutant woc(rgl) larvae. The woc gene encodes a protein of 187 kDa. Eight zinc fingers of the C2-C2 type point to a possible function as a transcription factor. The woc protein shows considerable homology to human proteins which have been implicated in both mental retardation and a leukemia/lymphoma syndrome.