title: A germline clone screen for meiotic mutants in Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Using an FLP/FRT-based method to create germline clones, we screened Drosophila chromosome arms 2L and 3R for new female meiotic mutants. The screen was designed to recover mutants with severe effects on meiotic exchange and/or segregation. This screen yielded 11 new mutants, including six alleles of previously known meiotic genes (c(2)M and ald/mps1). The remaining five mutants appear to define at least four new genes whose ablation results in severe meiotic defects. Three of the novel meiotic mutants were identified at the molecular level. Two of these, mcm5(A7) and trem(F9), define roles in meiotic recombination, while a third, cona(A12), is important for synaptonemal complex assembly. Surprisingly, five of the nine mutants for which the lesion has been identified at the molecular level are not the result of mutations characteristic of EMS mutagenesis, but rather due to the insertion of the transposable element Doc. This study demonstrates the utility of germline clone-based screens for the discovery of strong meiotic mutants, including mutations in essential genes, and the use of molecular genetic techniques to map the loci.
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, USA.
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Rachel J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Teeter
authors.forename: Cathleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lake
authors.forename: Sengkai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Kathleen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Kristen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Agne
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Gilliland
authors.forename: R Scott
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hawley
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D017344:Genes, Insect; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods; D018095:Germ-Line Mutation; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype