Abnormal development of the locomotor activity inyellowlarvae ofDrosophila: a cuticular defect?
✍ Scribed by Nibaldo C. Inestrosa; Claudio E. Sunkel; Jorge Arriagada; Jorge Garrido; Raul Godoy-Herrera
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 539 KB
- Volume
- 97
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0016-6707
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✦ Synopsis
The yellow (y) mutation of Drosophila melanogaster affects the development of behavior and morphology. We have analyzed some behavioral and morphological parameters during the development of y mutants. Wild-type third instar larvae move in straighter paths than larvae of the same age homozygous for the y mutation. At 96 h of age, the tracks ofy larvae have 10 times as many loops as tracks of wild-type larvae, and at 120 h of age, y larvae show bending behavior about 2.5 times more frequently than do wild-type. Consequently, they do not disperse as much as wild-type larvae. Concomitant with the behavioral changes, the larvae present a defect in the morphology of large chaetae in the larval denticle belts, particularly of 2nd and 3rd instars, both with light and scanning electron microscopes. These results suggest that a cuticular defect is probably involved in the abnormal locomotor activity observed in y larvae of Drosophila melanogaster.