Characterization of third chromosome dominant α-methyl dopa resistant mutants (Tcr) and their interactions with l(2)amd α-methyl dopa hypersensitive alleles in Drosophila melanogaster

SummaryIn Drosophila melanogaster two alleles at the Third chromosome resistance locus (Tcr; 3–39·6) were isolated in a screen of EMS mutagenized third chromosomes for dominant resistance to dietary α-methyl dopa, α-MD, a structural analogue of DOPA. Both alleles of Tcr are recessive lethals exhibiting partial complementation. Almost half (48·3%) of the Tcr40 / Tcr45 heterozygotes die as embryos but some survive past adult eclosion. Both the embryonic lethal phenotype and the adult phenotype suggest that Tcr is involved in cuticle synthesis. Tcr mutants suppress the lethality of partially complementing alleles at the α-MD hypersensitive locus, l(2)amd. The viability of Tcr40 / Tcr45, however, is not increased by the presence of a l(2)amd allele. The possibility that the Tcr and l(2)amd mutations reveal a catecholamine metabolic pathway involved in cuticle structure is discussed.

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THE GENETICS OF DOPA DECARBOXYLASE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. II. ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DOPA-DECARBOXYLASE-DEFICIENT MUTANTS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE α-METHYL-DOPA-HYPERSENSITIVE MUTANTS

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/84.2.287 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 287-310

Author(s):

Theodore R F Wright ◽

Glenn C Bewley ◽

Allen F Sherald

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Recombination Frequency ◽

Dopa Decarboxylase ◽

Isolation And Characterization ◽

Methyl Dopa ◽

Level Of Activity ◽

The Right ◽

Balancer Chromosome

ABSTRACT Of 84 lethals isolated over the dopa decarboxylase (DDC) deficiency Df(2L)50, 8 have been identified as DDC-deficient alleles on the basis of their effect on DDC activity when heterozygous over the CyO balancer chromosome with activities ranging from 28% to 53% of controls. Some of the Ddc-deficient alleles exhibit intracistronic complementation. Most of the complementing pairs of alleles are much reduced in viability, e.g. < 5% of expected, and express a common syndrome of mutant phenes which can reasonably be inferred to derive from inadequately sclerotinized cuticle. Individuals heterozygous for the noncomplementing allele, Ddcn7, over the 12-band DDC deficiency, Df(2L)130, die at the end of embryogenesis as unhatched larvae with unpigmented mouth parts. The Ddc alleles and the l(2)amd α-methyl dopa (αMD) hypersensitive alleles are both located within the 11 band region 37B10-C7. The l(2)amd locus is immediately to the right of hk(2-53.9).Ddc has been mapped within 0.004 Map Units to the right of l(2)amd with a maximum estimated recombination frequency of 0.01%. None of the Ddc/CyO strains are sensitive to the dietary administration of α-methyl dopa (αMD), and complementation occurs between the Ddc deficient alleles and the l(2)amd alleles both on the basis of viability and DDC activity. No effect on DDC by the amd alleles has been found to date. Even in the complementing heterozygote, amdH1/amdH89, the level of activity, thermostability, and in vitro αMD inhibition of DDC remains unaffected. Although no biochemical phene has yet been established for the αMD hypersensitive amd alleles, it seems likely that the two groups of mutants are functionally related.

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THE GENETICS OF DOPA DECARBOXYLASE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER I. ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFICIENCIES THAT DELETE THE DOPA-DECARBOXYLASE-DOSAGE-SENSITIVE REGION AND THE α-METHYL-DOPA-HYPERSENSITIVE LOCUS

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/84.2.267 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 267-285

Author(s):

Theodore R F Wright ◽

Ross B Hodgetts ◽

Allen F Sherald

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Dopa Decarboxylase ◽

Sensitive Region ◽

Isolation And Characterization ◽

Methyl Dopa ◽

Cytogenetic Investigation

ABSTRACT A detailed cytogenetic investigation of 16 overlapping deficiencies in the 36C-40A region on the left arm of the second chromosome (2L) in Drosophila melanogaster is reported. These deficiencies permit a localization of both the dopa-decarboxylase-dosage-sensitive region and the α-methyl-dopa-hypersensitive locus, l(2)amd, to the same region, 37B10-37C7.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of A genetic and molecular characterization of two proximal heterochromatic genes on chromosome 3 of Drosophila melanogaster.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1024295.288739 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan R Warner

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Molecular Characterization ◽

Chromosome 3 ◽

Heterochromatic Genes

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A closed-loop optogenetic screen for neurons controlling feeding in Drosophila

G3 Genes|Genome|Genetics ◽

10.1093/g3journal/jkab073 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Celia K S Lau ◽

Meghan Jelen ◽

Michael D Gordon

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Expression Pattern ◽

Sensory Neurons ◽

Closed Loop ◽

Higher Order ◽

Taste Detection ◽

Proof Of Principle ◽

Feeding Circuits

Abstract Feeding is an essential part of animal life that is greatly impacted by the sense of taste. Although the characterization of taste-detection at the periphery has been extensive, higher order taste and feeding circuits are still being elucidated. Here, we use an automated closed-loop optogenetic activation screen to detect novel taste and feeding neurons in Drosophila melanogaster. Out of 122 Janelia FlyLight Project GAL4 lines preselected based on expression pattern, we identify six lines that acutely promote feeding and 35 lines that inhibit it. As proof of principle, we follow up on R70C07-GAL4, which labels neurons that strongly inhibit feeding. Using split-GAL4 lines to isolate subsets of the R70C07-GAL4 population, we find both appetitive and aversive neurons. Furthermore, we show that R70C07-GAL4 labels putative second-order taste interneurons that contact both sweet and bitter sensory neurons. These results serve as a resource for further functional dissection of fly feeding circuits.

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Characterization of sparfloxacin-resistant mutants of Staphylococcus aureus obtained in vitro

International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents ◽

10.1016/s0924-8579(01)00366-1 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 107-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Joaquim Ruiz ◽

Josep M. Sierra ◽

M.Teresa Jiménez De Anta ◽

Jordi Vila

Keyword(s):

Staphylococcus Aureus ◽

Resistant Mutants

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Synthesis, Quantification, and Characterization of Fatty Acid Amides from In Vitro and In Vivo Sources

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26092543 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (9) ◽

pp. 2543

Author(s):

Ruidong Ni ◽

Suzeeta Bhandari ◽

Perry R. Mitchell ◽

Gabriela Suarez ◽

Neel B. Patel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Chemical Synthesis ◽

Acid Amide ◽

Fatty Acid Amides ◽

Fatty Acid Amide

Fatty acid amides are a diverse family of underappreciated, biologically occurring lipids. Herein, the methods for the chemical synthesis and subsequent characterization of specific members of the fatty acid amide family are described. The synthetically prepared fatty acid amides and those obtained commercially are used as standards for the characterization and quantification of the fatty acid amides produced by biological systems, a fatty acid amidome. The fatty acid amidomes from mouse N18TG2 cells, sheep choroid plexus cells, Drosophila melanogaster, Bombyx mori, Apis mellifera, and Tribolium castaneum are presented.

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Genetic and Molecular Characterization of sting, a Gene Involved in Crystal Formation and Meiotic Drive in the Male Germ Line of Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/151.2.749 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 151 (2) ◽

pp. 749-760 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Armin Schmidt ◽

Gioacchino Palumbo ◽

Maria P Bozzetti ◽

Patrizia Tritto ◽

Sergio Pimpinelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Null Allele ◽

Germ Line ◽

Meiotic Drive ◽

P Element ◽

Crystal Formation ◽

Male Sterile ◽

Male Sterile Mutation

Abstract The sting mutation, caused by a P element inserted into polytene region 32D, was isolated by a screen for male sterile insertions in Drosophila melanogaster. This sterility is correlated with the presence of crystals in spermatocytes and spermatids that are structurally indistinguishable from those produced in males carrying a deficiency of the Y-linked crystal (cry) locus. In addition, their morphology is needle-like in Ste+ flies and star-shaped in Ste flies, once again as observed in cry– males. The sti mutation leads to meiotic drive of the sex chromosomes, and the strength of the phenomenon is correlated with the copy number of the repetitive Ste locus. The same correlation is also true for the penetrance of the male sterile mutation. A presumptive sti null allele results in male sterility and lethal maternal effect. The gene was cloned and shown to code for a putative protein that is 866 amino acids long. A C-terminal domain of 82 amino acids is identified that is well conserved in proteins from different organisms. The gene is expressed only in the germline of both sexes. The interaction of sting with the Ste locus can also be demonstrated at the molecular level. While an unprocessed 8-kb Ste primary transcript is expressed in wild-type males, in X/Y homozygous sti males, as in X/Y cry– males, a 0.7-kb mRNA is produced.

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