Influence of homoeotic genes on the aldehyde oxidase pattern in imaginal discs of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

AbstractIn a study of the regulation of enzyme patterns in imaginal discs the aldehyde oxidase pattern was determined for some homoeotic mutations of D. melanogaster. Earlier indications that suggested that this pattern follows the determinitive state of compartments within imaginal discs were confirmed by the aldehyde oxidase (AO) pattern of both the wing and haltere discs from en1; bx3, en1; pbx, and en1; bx3 pbx larvae and the antennal discs from Antp73b and ssa larvae.We additionally analyzed whether AO activity depended on the determinative state of an entire compartment or was expressed autonomously in clones. Homozygous engrailed clones were induced by mitotic recombination. From the AO clones found in normally negative areas of the posterior compartment it was concluded that enzyme activity depended upon the determinative state of the cells and was not a function of the compartment as a whole.The results are described with reference to a scheme in which compartmental and subcompartmental selector genes are thought to determine a binary code on which AO patterns depend.