GENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE ACHAETE-SCUTE SYSTEM OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

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Abstract
Several mutations in the achaete-scute region of Drosophila have been analyzed phenotypically and cytologically. One group of them corresponds to point mutations, another t o rearrangements with one breakpoint in this region. Trans heterozygotes of the different point mutations or of the different rearrangements show poor complementation or fail to complement; therefore, they could be interpreted as mutations affecting the same gene product. However, left-right inversion recombinants and duplication-deficiency combinations between rearrangements with different cytological breakpoints uncover a complex organization of the achaete-scute region. This region seems to contain several independent achaete and scute functions, as well as a lethal function, arranged as a tandem reverse repeat at both sides of a lethal locus. Since all of the mutants show the same phenotype qualitatively, though different quantitatively, we suggest that these functions are of a reiterative nature. The achaete-scute wild-type condition may well be dependent on a multimeric gene product made of several evolutionary related monomers.