Patterns of puffing activity in the salivary gland polytene chromosomes of the medfly Ceratitis capitata, during larval and prepupal development

Genome ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 919-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeliki Gariou-Papalexiou ◽  
George Chrysanthis ◽  
Anastassios C Mintzas ◽  
Antigone Zacharopoulou

The patterns of puffing activity in the salivary gland polytene chromosomes have been studied during the late larval and prepupal stages of the medfly Ceratitis capitata. A total of 128 loci, with significant changes in puffing activity during this developmental period, were assigned to the five autosomes of the medfly. Two waves of puffing activity were observed, the first during the late larval stage and the second during the prepupal development. Overall puffing activity can be divided into four groups, group-IV activity being most conspicuous with 58 active loci. The major changes in puffing activity take place around jumping, a characteristic event occurring about 6 h before puparium formation, at puparium formation, and during midprepupal development. The overall puffing activity shows a positive correlation to the ecdysone titer in the hemolymph, suggesting that most of the changes in the activity of the puffs during the late larval and prepupal stages of the medfly may be regulated by ecdysone.Key words: polytene chromosomes, puffing patterns, ecdysone, Ceratitis capitata.

Genome ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Zacharopoulou ◽  
K. Bourtzis ◽  
Ph. Kerremans

The banding patterns of polytene chromosomes in different tissues of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, vary to such an extent that homologous chromosomes cannot be recognised. However, analyses of autosomal breakpoints in several translocation strains allowed chromosomes from the two tissues to be aligned despite their difference in banding pattern. These results were discussed, considering the different hypotheses of the origin and biological significance of polytene chromosome bands.Key words: polytene chromosomes, salivary gland chromosomes, orbital bristle trichogen cell chromosomes, Ceratitis capitata.


Genome ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Zacharopoulou

The present investigation constitutes a first attempt to study the salivary gland chromosomes of Ceratitis capitata. A photographic representation of the polytene chromosomes from the salivary gland of this species is provided and the tips, as well as some important landmarks, are recognized in each arm. There is an XX/XY pair and five pairs of autosomes in the metaphases, but neither the X nor the Y are represented among the banded polytene chromosomes. Key words: Ceratitis capitata, chromosomes (polytene), chromosomes (mitotic), salivary gland chromosomes.


Genome ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Bedo

Polytene chromosome reference maps of the five autosomes of Ceratitis capitata from male pupal orbital bristle trichogen cells are presented and a correlation is established between two of them and the two largest of the five autosomes in the haploid mitotic complement. Characteristic features of each chromosome are described identifying areas that are difficult to analyze and noting the existence of common alternative band expression. A quantitative analysis of the mitotic karyotype of C. capitata indicates that the two smallest autosome pairs cannot be reliably distinguished. This may present problems with future attempts to establish homologies between the remaining mitotic and polytene chromosomes. A comparison of polytene chromosome banding patterns from salivary gland and trichogen cells failed to find any homologous regions, or even to identify homologous chromosomes. The banding differences are not explained by variation in puffing patterns, heterochromatin expression, or polyteny levels, but appear to reflect fundamental differences in banding patterns of the chromosomes in each tissue. Key words: Ceratitis capitata, polytene chromosome map, mitotic chromosome measurements.


1968 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Nash ◽  
John Bell

It has been shown, by autoradiography using H3-thymidine, that the frequency of salivary gland cells where DNA synthesis covers the entire length of a specific polytene chromosomal segment (Chromosome II, 56F-60A, Drosophila melanogaster) drops off some time during the last day of larval life. The frequency of highly discontinuous DNA synthesis over the same region remains at about the same level until a stage closer to puparium formation, when all DNA synthesis stops.If a cycle of DNA synthesis, once initiated, goes to completion, then this finding indicates that the patterns of spatially continuous synthesis tend to occur early in the replicative cycle and that the terminal phases of the cycle involve highly discontinuous patterns of synthesis.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1455-1465 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Fletcher ◽  
K.C. Burtis ◽  
D.S. Hogness ◽  
C.S. Thummel

The steroid hormone ecdysone initiates Drosophila metamorphosis by reprogramming gene expression during late larval and prepupal development. The ecdysone-inducible gene E74, a member of the ets proto-oncogene family, has been proposed to play a key role in this process. E74 is encoded within the 74EF early puff and consists of two overlapping transcription units, E74A and E74B. To assess the function(s) of E74 during metamorphosis, we have isolated and characterized recessive loss-of-function mutations specific to each transcription unit. We find that mutations in E74A and E74B are predominantly lethal during prepupal and pupal development, consistent with a critical role for their gene products in metamorphosis. Phenotypic analysis reveals that E74 function is required for both pupariation and pupation, and for the metamorphosis of both larval and imaginal tissues. E74B mutants are defective in puparium formation and head eversion and die as prepupae or cryptocephalic pupae, while E74A mutants pupariate normally and die either as prepupae or pharate adults. We have also investigated the effects of the E74 mutations on gene expression by examining the puffing pattern of the salivary gland polytene chromosomes in newly formed mutant prepupae. Most puffs are only modestly affected by the E74B mutation, whereas a subset of late puffs are sub-maximally induced in E74A mutant prepupae. These observations are consistent with Ashburner's proposal that early puff proteins induce the formation of late puffs, and define E74A as a regulator of late puff activity. They also demonstrate that E74 plays a wide role in reshaping the insect during metamorphosis, affecting tissues other than the salivary gland in which it was originally identified.


Genome ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 919-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeliki Gariou-Papalexiou ◽  
George Chrysanthis ◽  
Anastassios C. Mintzas ◽  
Antigone Zacharopoulou

Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-244
Author(s):  
Martina Vaskova ◽  
A M Bentley ◽  
Samantha Marshall ◽  
Pamela Reid ◽  
Carl S Thummel ◽  
...  

Abstract The 63F early puff in the larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes contains the divergently transcribed E63-1 and E63-2 ecdysone-inducible genes. E63-1 encodes a member of the EF-hand family of Ca2+-binding proteins, while E63-2 has no apparent open reading frame. To understand the functions of the E63 genes, we have determined the temporal and spatial patterns of E63-1 protein expression, as well as undertaken a genetic analysis of the 63F puff. We show that E63-1 is expressed in many embryonic and larval tissues, but the third-instar larval salivary gland is the only tissue where increases in protein levels correlate with increases in ecdysone titer. Furthermore, the subcellular distribution of E63-1 protein changes dynamically in the salivary glands at the onset of metamorphosis. E63-1 and E63-2 null mutations, however, have no effect on development or fertility. We have characterized 40 kb of the 63F region, defined as the interval between Ubi-p and E63-2, and have identified three lethal complementation groups that correspond to the dSc-2, ida, and mge genes. We show that mge mutations lead to first-instar larval lethality and that Mge protein is similar to the Tom22 mitochondrial import proteins of fungi, suggesting that it has a role in mitochondrial function.


1971 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert E. Moorman

Acetic-acid-fixed smears of Drosophila larval salivary gland chromosomes and of neuroblast cells from the larval ganglion undergoing mitosis are prepared by a modification of Heidenhain's iron-haematoxylin technique, in which absolute methyl alcohol is the solvent of all reagents used in the staining process.


1986 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Bedo

Polytene chromosomes were found in several larval and pupal tissues of the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata, during a search for chromosomes suitable for detailed cytological analysis. Well-banded highly polytene chromosomes, which could be adequately separated and spread, were found in trichogen cells of the spatulate superior orbital bristles of male pupae. These chromosomes proved suitable for full polytene analysis. Thoracic trichogen cells of both male and female pupae also contain useful polytene chromosomes, although they are considerably thinner and thus more difficult to analyze. Contrasting with those in pupal trichogen cells, the chromosomes in the salivary glands, Malphighian tubules, midgut, hindgut, and fat body of larvae and pupae were difficult to prepare because of high levels of ectopic pairing and chromosome fragmentation. In hindgut preparations partial separation of up to three chromosomes was achieved, but in all other tissues no useful chromosome separation was possible. In trichogen polytene cells, five banded chromosomes and a prominent heterochromatic network associated with a nucleolus are found. The mitotic chromosomes respond to C- and Q-banding and silver staining with considerable variation. This is especially so in the X chromosome, which displays an extensive array of bands following both Q-banding and silver staining. Comparison of Q-banded metaphase and polytene chromosomes demonstrates that the five autosomes are represented by conventional polytene chromosomes, while the sex chromosomes are contained in the heterochromatic net, most of which fluoresces strongly. This suggests that the Q-bands of the mitotic X chromosome are replicated to a greater extent than the nonfluorescent material in polytene cells. This investigation shows C. capitata to have excellent cytological material for both polytene and mitotic analysis.Key words: Ceratitis capitata, Medfly, chromosomes (polytene), banding (chromosome).


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