Skip to main content
Log in

Meiotic mutations from natural populations ofDrosophila melanogaster

  • Published:
Genetica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Two meiotic genes from natural populations are described. A female meiotic mutation,mei(1)g13, mapped to 17.4 on the X chromosome, causes nondisjunction of all homologs except for the fourth chromosomes. In addition, it reduces recombination by 10% in the homozygotes and causes 18% increased recombination in the heterozygotes. A male meiotic mutation,mei-1223 m144, is located on the third chromosome. Although this mutation causes nondisjunction of all chromosomes, each chromosome pair exhibits a different nondisjunction frequency. Large variations in the sizes of the premature sperm heads observed in the homozygotes may reflect irregular meiotic pairing and the subsequent abnormal segregation, resulting in aneuploid chromosome complements.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ashburner, M., 1989.Drosophila. A laboratory handbook. Cold Spring Harbor Lab. Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, B. S. & A. T. C. Carpenter, 1972. Genetic analysis of sex chromosomal meiotic mutants inDrosophila melanogaster. Genetics 71: 255–286.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, B. S. & J. C. Hall, 1976. Meiotic mutants; genetic control of meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation, pp. 351–434 in The Genetics and Biology ofDrosophila, vol 1a, edited by M. Ashburner and E. Novitski. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, K. W., 1964. Meiotic conjunctive elements not involving chiasmata. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 52: 1248–1255.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Endow, S. A., S. Henikoff & L. Soler-Niedziela, 1990. Mediation of meiotic and early mitotic chromosome segregation inDrosophila by a protein related to kinesin. Nature 345: 81–83.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gavin, J. A. & D. G. Holm, 1972. Gamma ray induced nondisjunction of chromosome 2 in females. Drosophila Inf. Service 48: 143–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, M. M., 1988. Mobile DNA elements and spontaneous gene mutation, pp. 41–50 in Eukaryotic Transposable Elements as Mutagenic Agents, edited by M. E. Lambert, J. F. McDonald and I. B. Weinstein. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grell, R. F., 1976. Distributive pairing, pp. 435–486 in The Genetics and Biology ofDrosophila, vol 1a, edited by M. Ashburner and E. Novitski. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grell, R. F., 1984. Time of recombination in theDrosophila melanogaster oocyte. III. Selection and characterization of temperature-sensitive and -insensitive recombination-deficient alleles inDrosophila. Genetics 108: 425–443.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J. C., 1970. Non-independence of primary non-disjunction for the sex and fourth chromosomes inD. melanogaster. Drosophila Inf. Service 45: 160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinton, C., 1966. Enhancement of recombination associated with c(3)G mutant ofDrosophila melanogaster. Genetics 53: 157–164.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Inoue, Y. H. & M-T. Yamamoto, 1987. Insertional DNA and spontaneous mutation at the white locus inDrosophila simulans. Mol. Gen. Genet. 209: 94–100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ivy, J. M., 1981. Mutations that disrupt meiosis in males ofDrosophila melanogaster. Ph. D. Thesis, University of California, San Diego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsley, D. C. & E. H. Grell, 1968. Genetic variation ofDrosophila melanogaster. Carnegie Institute of Washington, Publ 627, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsley, D. C. & G. G. Zimm, 1992. The genome ofDrosophila melanogaster. Academic Press.

  • Mason, J. M., 1976. Orientation disruptor (ord): A recombination-defective and disjunction-defective meiotic mutant inDrosophila melanogaster. Genetics 84: 545–572.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKee, B. D., L. Habera & A. Vrana, 1992. Evidence that intergenic spacer repeats ofDrosophila melanogaster rRNA genes function as X-Y pairing sites in male meiosis, and a general model for achiasmatic pairing. Genetics 132: 529–544.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Novitski, E., 1976. The construction of an entire compound two chromosome, pp. 562–568 in The Genetics and Biology ofDrosophila, vol 1b, edited by M. Ashburner and E. Novitski. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandler, L., D. L. Lindsley, B. Nicoletti & G. Trippa, 1968. Mutants affecting meiosis in natural populations ofDrosophila melanogaster. Genetics 60: 525–558.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. A. & R. C. King, 1969. Genetic control of synaptonemal complexes inDrosophila melanogaster. Genetics 60: 335–351.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturtevant, A. H., 1951. A map of the fourth chromosome ofDrosophila melanogaster, based on crossing over in triploid females. Proc Natl Acad Sci 37: 405–407.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, A. H. & T. Wada, 1990. A new type of mei-9 allele inDrosophila melanogaster which is recombination-competent but repair-deficient. Jpn. J. Genet. 65: 165–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, A. H., D. J. Komma, C. D. Shaffer, V. Pirrotta & S. A. Endow, 1989. The claret locus inDrosophila encodes products required for eyecolor and for meiotic chromosome segregation. EMBO J, 8: 3543–3552.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, M. & G. L. G. Miklos, 1977. Genetic dissection of heterochromatin inDrosophila: The role of basal X heterochromatin in meiotic sex chromosome behaviour. Chromosoma 60: 283–296.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, M., 1979. Cytological studies of heterochromatin function in theDrosophila melanogaster male: autosomal meiotic pairing. Chromosoma 72: 293–328.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, M., 1981. The mechanism of meiotic chromosome pairing in theDrosophila melanogaster male. Jpn. J. Genet. 56: 79–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, M-T., 1993. Inviability of hybrids betweenD. melanogaster andD. simulans results from the absence of simulans X not the presence of simulans Y chromosome. Genetica (in press).

  • Zhang, P., B. A. Knowles, L. S. Goldstein & R. S. Hawley, 1990. A kinesin-like protein required for distributive chromosome segregation inDrosophila. Cell 62: 1053–1062.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yamamoto, A.H., Muramatsu, K., Otsuka, T. et al. Meiotic mutations from natural populations ofDrosophila melanogaster . Genetica 88, 165–173 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02424473

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02424473

Key words

Navigation