Suppressor genes with gender differences in activity in natural populations of Drosophila robusta: another approach to wild-type

Homozygous or hemizygous expression of an X-linked wing mutant of Drosophila robusta varies from a rudimentary wing that does not reach the tip of the abdomen (called ‘club’) to forms with full-sized but curled or crumpled wings (called ‘curly’). Homozygous club females crossed to flies from natural populations or laboratory stocks derived from wild flies invariably produce significantly less club male progeny than the 100% expected, most of them exhibiting less severe phenotypes: ‘curly’ forms and wild-type. The male progeny from similar crosses using curly females tend to be predominantly normal. By contrast, the male progeny of outcrossed females homozygous for an X-linked eye colour mutant, vermilion, are all vermilion. The data indicate that natural populations of D. robusta contain suppressors of the wing mutant but not of the eye colour mutant studied. Activity of the suppressors differs by gender: in experiments in which genetic theory expects similar results in the two sexes, males consistently show stronger effects of the suppressors than females.