The art and design of genetic screens: Drosophila melanogaster.
The success of Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism is largely due to the power of forward genetic screens to identify the genes that are involved in a biological process. Traditional screens, such as the Nobel-prize-winning screen for embryonic-patterning mutants, can only identify the earliest phenotype of a mutation. This review describes the ingenious approaches that have been devised to circumvent this problem: modifier screens, for example, have been invaluable for elucidating signal-transduction pathways, whereas clonal screens now make it possible to screen for almost any phenotype in any cell at any stage of development.
St Johnston
Daniel
D
Wellcome/CRC Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK. ds139@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005123:Eye / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D017344:Genes, Insect; D016153:Genes, Suppressor; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010641:Phenotype