What causes white eyes in Drosophila?

What causes white eyes in Drosophila?

White eye color is a mutant phenotype, caused by a mutation in a gene in the pigment pathway, discovered in 1910 by the father of modern genetics, Thomas Hunt Morgan (Green, 2010; Morgan, 1910).

Can female Drosophila have white eyes?

A female Drosophila of unknown genotype was crossed with a white-eyed male fly, of genotype (w = white eye allele is recessive, w+= red-eye allele is dominant.) Half of the male and half of the female offspring were red-eyed, and half of the male and half of the female offspring were white-eyed.

What does the White gene in Drosophila do?

The white (w +) gene in Drosophila, discovered in 1910 by Thomas Hunt Morgan16, encodes a subunit of an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, which loads up pigment granules and deposits the content to pigment cells in the compound eyes, ocelli, Malpighian tubules and testis17, 18.

What does white eye color mean?

Light shining off the optic nerve: this is the most common cause of a white reflex or white pupil in a photo. Light entering the eye at a certain angle may be reflected from the optic nerve. This becomes magnified and the white eye effect may be seen. Cataract: this is the second most common cause of a white reflex.

Where is the white gene in Drosophila?

Finally, in cultured Drosophila and mammalian cells, the White transporter is found in the endosomal compartment. The additional genes identified in this study as being involved in male-male courtship increase the repertoire of mutations available to study sexual behavior in Drosophila (Anaka, 2008).

What is bar locus in Drosophila?

The Bar locus in Drosophila melanogaster is believed to be related to the band 16A1. 2 in the salivary gland X chromosome. Comparison with a Bar deficiency shows that in its normal position the Bar locus has no effect on the phenotype of the fly.

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