Development of Eye Colors in Drosophila: Transplantation Experiments with Suppressor of Vermilion

Abstract

The vermilion eye color character in Drosophila melanogaster has been shown, by studies of mosaics (Sturtevant [2]) and by transplantation experiments (Beadle and Ephrussi [3]), to be dependent on the genetic constitution of parts of the body other than eye tissue. Thus if a vermilion (v) eye disc is transplanted to a wild type host, an eye develops which has the pigmentation characteristic of a genetically wild type eye. The recessive mutant suppressor of vermilion (su-v, 1-0.0; known not to be a duplication of the v locus, Schultz and Bridges [4]) is of such a nature that a fly homozygous for su-v and for v is but slightly different from wild type in eye color. Since it is clear that a genetically v eye can become phenotypically wild type if a diffusible substance which has been called v+ substance [3], acts on it, it is of particular interest to determine the characteristics of a suppressed vermilion fly. For example, is the v+ substance present in such a fly? By means of the transplantation technique (Ephrussi and Beadle [5]), a series of experiments were made, designed to answer the above and similar questions and to supplement the information obtained by Schultz [6] in studies of mosaics involving su-v. Transplantation operations were made on flies in the late larval stage, generally within 12 hours of pupation [7]. In all determinations control transplants were made, e.g., v in v and su-v v in su-v v served as controls for su-v v in v experiments.