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PubMed1985

Electron microscopic heteroduplex mapping identifies regions of the engrailed locus that are conserved between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila virilis.

Physical localization of mutations in the engrailed (en) gene suggested that at least 70 kilobases (kb) of genomic sequences contribute to the normal function of this gene. Molecular characterization has suggested that en function is encoded in a small, 4.5-kb primary transcript. To identify functional regions within the 70 kb of the en locus of D. melanogaster, we identified sequences conserved in the D. virilis genome (estimated divergence time, 60 million years). Based on homology to D. melanogaster, we isolated en DNA from a D. virilis genomic library. Electron microscopic heteroduplex analysis indicated that in 70 kb there is 20 kb of conserved DNA in 33 different regions dispersed throughout the en locus, including two which encode parts of the major embryonic transcript. The conserved regions are in the same linear order and are spaced by similar lengths of nonconserved sequences in the D. virilis and D. melanogaster DNAs. What functional constraints have enforced conservation of sequences throughout the entire 70 kb and protected the region from divergence of size and arrangement? Our working hypothesis is that sequences necessary for the complex spatial and temporal pattern of en expression are dispersed throughout the 70-kb en locus and that selection for proper regulation restricts evolutionary divergence.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Structural organization of the alpha-amylase gene locus in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila miranda.

Chromosomal sites belonging to the alpha-amylase gene family have been identified in D. melanogaster and D. miranda and in the sibling species of miranda, pseudoobscura, and persimilis. Two sites occur in chromosome 2 of melanogaster; one contains the Amy gene locus (54A) and the other an amylase "pseudogene" (53CD). Two sites of homology exist at 73A and 78C and perhaps another at 81BC in chromosome 3 of pseudoobscura and persimilis and in the homologous regions of the X2 chromosome in miranda. The active Amy locus is apparently at 73A. The structural organization of cloned sequences from this multigene family in melanogaster and miranda is under analysis, with emphasis on the functional Amy gene region. Electrophoretic variants of amylase have served as invaluable tools in these studies. For melanogaster, their use as genetic markers enabled us to positively identify our lambda Dm65 clone of the Amy locus and to show that it contains two functional copies of the structural gene for alpha-amylase. Amylase isozymes are now being used in P element-mediated transformation experiments aimed at defining regulatory elements for the temporal and spatial control of amylase expression during development and in response to dietary glucose. In miranda, electrophoretic variants of amylase were useful in assigning the Amy locus to chromosome X2, and they continue to serve as essential markers in our study of the evolution of dosage compensation for amylase expression in males of this species. Restriction maps of the Amy locus in 7 strains of D. melanogaster indicate that despite the worldwide origins of the chromosome samples, all contain a duplication of the amylase structural gene at this locus regardless of whether they produce two alpha-amylase isozymes, a single variant, or none. We have aligned these maps with the genetic and cytological maps of chromosome 2R in melanogaster and assigned alleles for different amylase isozymes to either the proximal or distal Amy gene copy in a number of strains. Restriction site polymorphism is relatively limited at the Amy locus, but some strain-specific rearrangements exist. The locus of two strains with reduced amylase activity, Amy1 (CA 1) and Amy "null", contain anomalies--an insertion in the former and an inversion in the latter. Causal relationships are being sought between the level of amylase expression in these strains and the position of their respective anomalies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Adaptive significance of amylase polymorphism in Drosophila. I. The geographical pattern of allozyme polymorphism at the amylase locus in Drosophila subobscura.

Allelic variation at the Amy locus was studied in eight natural populations from the central and northern range of D. subobscura, and the geographical pattern of Amy polymorphism over the range of this species was described. Even though regional and local differences in gene frequencies were found, in general the same alleles occur at high, intermediate and low frequencies, in nearly all populations. There are no significant differences in allele frequencies, but there is significant difference in the degree of heterozygosity among groups of populations from the northern, central and southern range. An analysis of population subdivision indicates that heterogeneity within populations is higher than between populations. Genetic distance values indicate that there is a variable degree of geographical differentiation between local populations. Variability within and between continental and insular populations is also discussed.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1976

Electrophoretic variability in island populations of Drosophila simulans and Drosophila immigrans.

Genetic structure and variability were investigated in several Hawaiian populations of D. simulans and D. immigrans. Genetic variability is lower in Hawaiian populations of D. simulans than in Texas populations, and allelic differences exist as well. For D. immigrans, Hawaiian and Korean populations are similar in variability, allelic content, and gene frequencies. Several hypothesis are advanced to account for the patterns in gene variation observed between island and continental populations of these two colonizing species.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗