Variation in the eye pigment pathways of Drosophila melanogaster

• Main Author: Hainey, Sheila
• Published: University of Edinburgh 1979
• Subjects: 591.35
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.651943

The extracted eye pigments of a number of Drosophila melanogaster eye colour mutant stocks, of various combinations of such mutants, and of a number of laboratory cage populations, were measured according to a modification of the method of Ephrussi and Herold. Full-sib studies and selection experiments showed that the brown eye pigment (xanthommatin) is a character of high heritability. Allelism tests suggested that variation at loci recognised by mutations contributes to the variation in the content of both red and brown eye pigments observed in wild populations. Studies of three of the intermediates of xanthonmatin synthesis, namely tryptophan, kynurenine and 3-hydroxykynurenine at several stages of pupal development showed these to be very sensitive to mutations affecting eye colour. These intermediates are also affected by variation found in wild populations. The red and brown eye pigments of a number of white locus alleles were studied in some detail in order to examine interactions between the two pathways at the level of the products of this locus.