[Advances in understanding Drosophila salivary gland polytene chromosome and its applications in genetics teaching]

Drosophila salivary gland polytene chromosome, one of the three classical chromosomes with remarkable characteristics, has been used as an outstanding model for a variety of genetic studies since 1934. The greatest contribution of this model to genetics has been providing extraordinary angle of view in studying interphase chromosome structure and gene expression regulation. Additionally, it has been extensively used to understand some special genetic phenomena, such as dosage compensation and position-effect variegation. In this paper, we briefly review the advances in the study of Drosophila salivary gland chromosome, and try to systematically and effectively introduce this model system into genetics teaching practice in order to steer and inspire students' interest in genetics.