The characterization of a mutant affecting DNA metabolism in the development of D. melanogaster

Using a "single-fly" nucleic acid hybridization method, we have surveyed a collection of D. melanogaster strains in search of variants which affect DNA complementary to the polypyrimidine sequence corresponding to one strand of the 1.705 satellite. Hybridization of labelled polypyrimidine probe to polypurine sequence in nucleic acid extracts of single flies, followed by thermal chromatography over hydroxyapatite led to the identification of one variant. The strain Cy/M(2)S2(10) produced excess hybrid, much of which had low thermal stability. A developmental analysis of the low-melt hybrid phenotype showed that certain tissues, in particular the ovaries, were affected. In addition to the biochemical phenotype, the break down of nurse cell nuclei in Cy/M(2)S2(10) ovaries during oocyte maturation was abnormal. A genetic analysis demonstrated that both the biochemical and cytological phenotypes were the consequences of a single recessive mutation in the DNase-1 gene on chromosome III. Studies with purified DNA demonstrated that the low-melt hybrid phenotype resulted from the accumulation of low molecular weight DNA complementary to the polypyrimidine probe.