The autosomal FLP-DFS technique for generating germline mosaics in Drosophila melanogaster

The production of female germline chimeras is invaluable for analyzing the tissue specificity of recessive female sterile mutations as well as detecting the maternal effect of recessive zygotic lethal mutations. Previously, we developed the "FLP-DFS" technique to efficiently generate germline clones. This technique uses the X-linked germline-dependent dominant female sterile mutation ovoD1 as a selection for the detection of germline recombination events, and the FLP-FRT recombination system to promote site-specific chromosomal exchange. This method allows the efficient production of germline mosaics only on the X chromosome. In this paper we have built chromosomes that allow the use of this technique to the autosomes. We describe the various steps involved in the development of this technique as well as the properties of the chromosomes utilized.