title: Hybrid dysgenesis-induced quantitative variation on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: To determine the ability of the P-M hybrid dysgenesis system of Drosophila melanogaster to generate mutations affecting quantitative traits, X chromosome lines were constructed in which replicates of isogenic M and P strain X chromosomes were exposed to a dysgenic cross, a nondysgenic cross, or a control cross, and recovered in common autosomal backgrounds. Mutational heritabilities of abdominal and sternopleural bristle score were in general exceptionally high-of the same magnitude as heritabilities of these traits in natural populations. P strain chromosomes were eight times more mutable than M strain chromosomes, and dysgenic crosses three times more effective than nondysgenic crosses in inducing polygenic variation. However, mutational heritabilities of the bristle traits were appreciable for P strain chromosomes passed through one nondysgenic cross, and for M strain chromosomes backcrossed for seven generations to inbred P strain females, a result consistent with previous observations on mutations affecting quantitative traits arising from nondysgenic crosses. The new variation resulting from one generation of mutagenesis was caused by a few lines with large effects on bristle score, and all mutations reduced bristle number.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
authors.forename: C Q
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Mackay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D014960:X Chromosome
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements