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Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1991 Aug;128(4):785–797. doi: 10.1093/genetics/128.4.785

The Effect of Modifiers of Position-Effect Variegation on the Variegation of Heterochromatic Genes of Drosophila Melanogaster

M G Hearn 1, A Hedrick 1, T A Grigliatti 1, B T Wakimoto 1
PMCID: PMC1204552  PMID: 1916244

Abstract

Dominant modifiers of position-effect variegation of Drosophila melanogaster were tested for their effects on the variegation of genes normally located in heterochromatin. These modifiers were previously isolated as strong suppressors of the variegation of euchromatic genes and have been postulated to encode structural components of heterochromatin or other products that influence chromosome condensation. While eight of the modifiers had weak or no detectable effects, six acted as enhancers of light (lt) variegation. The two modifiers with the strongest effects on lt were shown to also enhance the variegation of neighboring heterochromatic genes. These results suggest that the wild-type gene products of some modifiers of position-effect variegation are required for proper expression of genes normally located within or near the heterochromatin of chromosome 2. We conclude that these heterochromatic genes have fundamentally different regulatory requirements compared to those typical of euchromatic genes.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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