Developmental effects of X-irradiation of early Drosophila embryos

Drosophila embryos were treated at specific stages during early embryogenesis with various doses of X-irradiation. The lethality at various times during development was established and pattern defects in the adults noted. It was observed that the most sensitive stages of embryogenesis to X-ray-induced lethality were also the stages where most morphological defects were found in the adults which emerged. This suggests that presumptive larval and adult cells are sensitive to X-rays at the same stages of embryogenesis.