Transcription of the white locus in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetic studies of the white locus have shown that it has a distal region where structural mutations occur and a proximal region where regulatory mutations occur. To better understand the molecular basis of this genetic organization we have analyzed white locus transcription. A 2.7-kilobase transcript comprising 0.0005% of poly(A)-RNA was detected in RNA prepared from pupae or adults. The structure of this transcript helps clarify some unusual genetic properties of the locus. There is a small 5' exon separated from the majority of the sequences found in the mature RNA by an intron of approximately 2.8 kilobases. This 5' exon is from the proximal region of the locus, whereas the main body of the RNA maps to the distal region. The mutationally silent region between the proximal and distal regions corresponds to the large intron. We have identified the family and determined the exact location of a number of transposable element insertions within the locus. These results show that transposable element insertions within introns can be without phenotypic effect. We have also investigated the effect on the white transcript of the zeste mutation, which represses white locus expression as judged by eye color phenotype. The RNA was unchanged in size or abundance in poly(A)-RNA from adult flies. This demonstrates that the zeste-white interaction does not occur by simply repressing transcription of the white locus in all tissues.