Origin of leg musculature during Drosophila metamorphosis

Pro- and mesothoracic leg imaginal disks of late third-instar larvae of genotypes affecting the electrophoretic mobilities of alpha-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) and arginine kinase (EC 2.7.3.3) were transplanted into host larvae of different genotypes. The metamorphosed implants were analyzed microscopically for the presence of musculature, histochemically for the distribution of enzyme activity, and electrophoretically for determination of the phenotypes of the two muscle-marker enzymes. The results permit the conclusion that leg imaginal disks contain muscle stem-cells.