Butyrate suppression of position-effect variegation in Drosophila melanogaster.
The strain of Drosophila melanogaster carrying the inversion of In(1)wm4, which juxtaposes the normal w+ gene to the centromeric heterochromatin, variegages for pigmentation in the eye. This strain was treated with various concentrations of n-butyrate and n-proprionate during the embryonic and larval stages. Concentrations as low as 70 mM markedly suppress the variegated eye phenotype. This suggests that non-acetylated histones play a major role in the phenomenon of position-effect variegation.
D000818:Animals; D002087:Butyrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005127:Eye Color; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics*; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D010641:Phenotype
D002087:Butyrates; D006657:Histones; D004247:DNA