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Requirement offlex (femalelethal onX) in the development of the female germ line ofDrosophila melanogaster

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Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster females homozygous forflex, an X-linked recessive mutation, do not survive. Hemizygous males are unaffected. Homozygous embryos appear to lack SXL, the product of theSex-lethal (Sxl) gene, apparently as a result of disruption ofSxl splicing. It is known that bothSxl and its somatic splicing regulators [snf andfl(2)d] also function in the development of the female germ line. For this reason, we investigated the role offlex in the germ line by generatingflex/flex clones inflex/+ females. Females carrying such clones in their germ lines do not lay eggs whereas females carryingflex+ eggs lay viable eggs. Additionally, DAPI staining of ovarioles showed that diploid germ cells that are homozygous mutant forflex do not complete oogenesis. These results indicate that theflex+ gene product may be required for the development of the female germ line.

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Author notes

  1. Ananya Bhattacharya

    Present address: Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, 08854-8020, Piscataway, NJ, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, 560012, Bangalore, India

    Ananya Bhattacharya, S. Sudha, Swathi Balakrishna & H. Sharat Chandra

  2. Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, 560 064, Bangalore, India

    H. Sharat Chandra

Authors
  1. Ananya Bhattacharya
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  2. S. Sudha
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  3. Swathi Balakrishna
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  4. H. Sharat Chandra
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Correspondence to Ananya Bhattacharya.

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Bhattacharya, A., Sudha, S., Balakrishna, S. et al. Requirement offlex (femalelethal onX) in the development of the female germ line ofDrosophila melanogaster . J. Genet. 78, 133–139 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02934458

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02934458

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