The phenotypic and molecular characterization of the Bicaudal-C locus in Drosophila melanogaster
Bicaudal-C is a dominant maternal effect mutation which shows incomplete penetrance. Females are fertile and not all their progeny are affected. Those embryos which do not hatch show defects in their antero-posterior polarity, and give rise to bicaudal embryos which are duplicated for posterior stru...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | en |
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McGill University
1994
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| Online Access: | http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=22766 |
| Summary: | Bicaudal-C is a dominant maternal effect mutation which shows incomplete penetrance. Females are fertile and not all their progeny are affected. Those embryos which do not hatch show defects in their antero-posterior polarity, and give rise to bicaudal embryos which are duplicated for posterior structures. Twelve alleles of the genes have been phenotypically analysed. The penetrance of each allele has been determined and the phenotypes of embryonic defects such as mouth/head defect, bicaudal and uncellularized embryos classified and scored, in order to use this information to analyse these alleles at the cellular and molecular level. The bicaudal phenotype results from the mislocalization of the oskar and nanos RNA at the anterior end of the embryos. The gene also has a recessive phenotype which makes the females sterile. The phenotype is the result of specific defects in follicle cell migration. The alleles have been subdivided into two classes according to their phenotype: weak and strong. The gene encoding Bicaudal-C has been cloned and sequenced. It is expressed in the germline and appears to encode a member of the KH domain family of putative RNA-binding proteins. |
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