Chromocentre polymorphism in polytene chromosomes of Simulium costatum (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Genome ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Brockhouse ◽  
J. A. B. Bass ◽  
N. A. Straus

The polytene chromosomes of the black fly species Simulium (Nevermannia) costatum are joined at the centromeres in a strongly heterochromatic chromocentre. Examination of the larval salivary gland chromosomes revealed two populations with a unique polymorphism for attachment to the chromocentre involving all centromeres. All three homologous pairs of chromosomes are polymorphic for centromeres that do not join to the chromocentre. Samples from one of these populations were large enough for thorough study. In this population, the attachment polymorphism is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for two of the centromeres and was in the same frequency for 2 successive years of sampling. The polymorphism could be either primary, retained from an ancestral nonchromocentric state, or secondary, evolving independently or introduced via hybrid introgression. The evolution of chromocentres is discussed in the context of species in the Simulium vernum group.Key words: black fly, polytene chromosome, chromocentre, polymorphism, evolution.

Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-244
Author(s):  
Martina Vaskova ◽  
A M Bentley ◽  
Samantha Marshall ◽  
Pamela Reid ◽  
Carl S Thummel ◽  
...  

Abstract The 63F early puff in the larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes contains the divergently transcribed E63-1 and E63-2 ecdysone-inducible genes. E63-1 encodes a member of the EF-hand family of Ca2+-binding proteins, while E63-2 has no apparent open reading frame. To understand the functions of the E63 genes, we have determined the temporal and spatial patterns of E63-1 protein expression, as well as undertaken a genetic analysis of the 63F puff. We show that E63-1 is expressed in many embryonic and larval tissues, but the third-instar larval salivary gland is the only tissue where increases in protein levels correlate with increases in ecdysone titer. Furthermore, the subcellular distribution of E63-1 protein changes dynamically in the salivary glands at the onset of metamorphosis. E63-1 and E63-2 null mutations, however, have no effect on development or fertility. We have characterized 40 kb of the 63F region, defined as the interval between Ubi-p and E63-2, and have identified three lethal complementation groups that correspond to the dSc-2, ida, and mge genes. We show that mge mutations lead to first-instar larval lethality and that Mge protein is similar to the Tom22 mitochondrial import proteins of fungi, suggesting that it has a role in mitochondrial function.


1971 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert E. Moorman

Acetic-acid-fixed smears of Drosophila larval salivary gland chromosomes and of neuroblast cells from the larval ganglion undergoing mitosis are prepared by a modification of Heidenhain's iron-haematoxylin technique, in which absolute methyl alcohol is the solvent of all reagents used in the staining process.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1877-1886
Author(s):  
B M Benton ◽  
S Berrios ◽  
P A Fisher

A 75-kilodalton polypeptide has been identified which copurifies with karyoskeletal protein-enriched fractions prepared from Drosophila melanogaster embryos. Results of indirect immunofluorescence experiments suggest that this protein, here designated p75, is primarily associated with puffed regions of larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes. In nonpolytenized Schneider 2 tissue culture cells, p75 appeared to be localized throughout the nuclear interior during interphase. In mitotic cells, p75 was redistributed diffusely. A possible role for karyoskeletal elements in transcriptional regulation is discussed.


Genome ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaliow Kuvangkadilok ◽  
Suwannee Phayuhasena ◽  
Visut Baimai

A standard photographic map of Simulium feuerborni (Diptera: Simuliidae) was constructed from larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes and is described herein. Analysis of polytene chromosomes was made from wild larvae collected from the four populations at Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. Simulium feuerborni has three pairs of chromosomes (2n = 6) which are arranged from the longest to the shortest. Chromosome I is metacentric while chromosomes II and III are submetacentric. A total of six simple paracentric inversions have been detected in these natural populations of S. feuerborni. These inversions (IS-1, IL-1, IIL-1, IIL-2, IIIS-1, IIIL-1) occurred in all chromosome arms except for the arm IIS. Significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium has been observed in inversion IIIL-1 at Hui Sai Luaeng suggesting the existence of two gene pools in this population. There is no indication of sex linkage associated with an inversion sequence in these populations. Thus, the X and Y chromosomes of S. feuerborni could not be recognized in this study.Key words: Simulium, polytene chromosome map, inversion polymorphisms


Genome ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1167-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza M Shahjahan ◽  
Farzana Yesmin

Standard photographic maps of the polytene chromosomes are presented for the melon fly Bactrocera cucurbitae, a serious pest of fleshy fruits and vegetables. Five larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes (10 polytene arms) were isolated, and their characteristic features and landmarks have been recognized. Banding patterns of each of the polytene arms are presented, where variation in band intensity and puffs appear to reflect fundamental differences in chromosomes. The whole polytene genome has been typically mapped by dividing it into 100 sections and the subsections were lettered. The mitotic chromosomes of larval brain ganglia are also examined, five pairs of autosomes and an XX/XY sex chromosome pair. In addition, a heterochromatic mass corresponding to the sex chromosomes are observed in the polytene nuclei of salivary gland tissue. This investigation showed that B. cucurbitae has excellent cytological material for polytene chromosome analysis and proved to be very useful for obtaining more detailed genetic information on the pest's natural populations.Key words: Bactrocera cucurbitae, salivary gland, banding patterns, polytene maps.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 7101-7111
Author(s):  
P Hurban ◽  
C S Thummel

Our insights into the regulatory mechanisms by which the steroid hormone ecdysone triggers Drosophila melanogaster metamorphosis have largely depended on puffs in the larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes as a means of identifying genes of interest. Here, we describe an approach that provides access to ecdysone-inducible genes that are expressed in most larval and imaginal tissues, regardless of their ability to form puffs in the polytene chromosomes. Several hundred cDNAs were picked at random from subtracted cDNA libraries and subjected to a rapid and sensitive screen for their ability to detect mRNAs induced by ecdysone in the presence of cycloheximide. Of the 15 genes identified in this manner, 2 correspond to early puffs in the salivary gland polytene chromosomes, at 63F and 75B, confirming that this screen functions at the desired level of sensitivity and is capable of identifying novel primary-response genes. Three of the genes, Eig45-1, Eig58, and Eig87, are expressed coordinately with the salivary gland early genes; one of them, Eig58, maps to the 58BC puff that is active when the 74EF and 75B early puffs are at their maximal size. Another gene identified in this screen, Eig17-1, encodes a novel cytochrome P-450. On the basis of its sequence identity and temporal profile of expression, this gene may play a role in steroid hormone metabolism and thus could provide a mechanism for feedback regulation of ecdysone production. Although all 15 genes have patterns of transcription that are consistent with ecdysone regulation in vivo, 5 genes do not appear to be induced by the late larval ecdysone pulse. This indicates that ecdysone induction in larval organs cultured with cycloheximide is not always indicative of a primary response to the hormone.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1877-1886 ◽  
Author(s):  
B M Benton ◽  
S Berrios ◽  
P A Fisher

A 75-kilodalton polypeptide has been identified which copurifies with karyoskeletal protein-enriched fractions prepared from Drosophila melanogaster embryos. Results of indirect immunofluorescence experiments suggest that this protein, here designated p75, is primarily associated with puffed regions of larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes. In nonpolytenized Schneider 2 tissue culture cells, p75 appeared to be localized throughout the nuclear interior during interphase. In mitotic cells, p75 was redistributed diffusely. A possible role for karyoskeletal elements in transcriptional regulation is discussed.


Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 613-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Huet ◽  
C. Ruiz ◽  
G. Richards

The steroid hormone ecdysone orchestrates insect development by regulating gene networks. In Drosophila the most detailed description of ecdysone action is the sequential activation of early and late puffs in the polytene chromosomes of the late larval salivary gland. A number of these early puffs (2B5, 74EF and 75B) contain complex transcription units (Broad-Complex, E74 and E75 respectively) encoding families of regulatory proteins which are expressed in most if not all tissues. In vitro, transcripts of the different isoforms of these early genes as well as the ecdysone receptor (EcR) present varying dose response characteristics (Karim and Thummel, 1992, EMBO J. 11, 4083–4093). We have developed an in vivo approach using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-PCR) so as to visualise these transcripts in the RNA extracted from a single salivary gland. Using one salivary gland lobe for developmental puff staging and the sister lobe for RT-PCR, we have obtained precise developmental profiles for these transcripts and have extended our study to other tissues and stages where puffing studies were not possible. In the salivary gland we have characterised three distinct ecdysone responses. For the mid and late third larval instar responses our results confirm and extend the conclusions of the in vitro studies concerning the temporal expression of the early gene isoforms. The relatively brief prepupal response contains elements in common with each of the larval responses and all three can be explained by the profiles of the respective ecdysone peaks. Interestingly EcR transcripts respond differently during each response. The analysis of different tissues of the same animal reveals subtle differences in the timing of the ecdysone response and isoform expression and suggests that this may reflect tissue differences in the ecdysone profiles. As these molecules have homologues in vertebrates, our analysis may have general implications for the organisation of hormonal responses in vivo.


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