Skip to main content
PMC home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1993 Jul;134(3):825–835. doi: 10.1093/genetics/134.3.825

The Genetic Analysis of Achiasmate Segregation in Drosophila Melanogaster. III. the Wild-Type Product of the Axs Gene Is Required for the Meiotic Segregation of Achiasmate Homologs

W L Whyte 1, H Irick 1, T Arbel 1, G Yasuda 1, R L French 1, D R Falk 1, R S Hawley 1
PMCID: PMC1205519  PMID: 8349113

Abstract

The regular segregation of achiasmate chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster females is ensured by two distinct segregational systems. The segregation of achiasmate homologs is assured by the maintenance of heterochromatic pairing; while the segregation of heterologous chromosomes is ensured by a separate mechanism that may not require physical association. Axs(D) (Aberrant X segregation) is a dominant mutation that specifically impairs the segregation of achiasmate homologs; heterologous achiasmate segregations are not affected. As a result, achiasmate homologs frequently participate in heterologous segregations at meiosis I. We report the isolation of two intragenic revertants of the Axs(D) mutation (Axs(r2) and Axs(r3)) that exhibit a recessive meiotic phenotype identical to that observed in Axs(D)/Axs(D) females. A third revertant (Axs(r1)) exhibits no meiotic phenotype as a homozygote, but a meiotic defect is observed in Axs(r1)/Axs(r2) females. Therefore mutations at the Axs(D) locus define a gene necessary and specific for homologous achiasmate segregation during meiosis. We also characterize the interactions of mutations at the Axs locus with two other meiotic mutations (ald and ncd). Finally, we propose a model in which Axs(+) is required for the normal separation of paired achiasmate homologs. In the absence of Axs(+) function, the homologs are often unable to separate from each other and behave as a single segregational unit that is free to segregate from heterologous chromosomes.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.1 MB).

Selected References

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

  1. Carpenter A. T. A meiotic mutant defective in distributive disjunction in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1973 Mar;73(3):393–428. doi: 10.1093/genetics/73.3.393. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Carpenter A. T. Distributive segregation: motors in the polar wind? Cell. 1991 Mar 8;64(5):885–890. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90313-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Endow S. A., Henikoff S., Soler-Niedziela L. Mediation of meiotic and early mitotic chromosome segregation in Drosophila by a protein related to kinesin. Nature. 1990 May 3;345(6270):81–83. doi: 10.1038/345081a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Falk D. R., Halladay D. L. The characterization of chromosome breaks in Drosophila melanogaster. II. Molecular analysis of gamma-ray-induced deficiencies in the 14F-15A region. Mutat Res. 1986 Nov;163(2):145–155. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(86)90043-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Falk D. R., Roselli L., Curtiss S., Halladay D., Klufas C. The characterization of chromosome breaks in Drosophila melanogaster. I. Mass isolation of deficiencies which have an end point in the 14A-15A region. Mutat Res. 1984 Mar;126(1):25–34. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(84)90166-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hatsumi M., Endow S. A. Mutants of the microtubule motor protein, nonclaret disjunctional, affect spindle structure and chromosome movement in meiosis and mitosis. J Cell Sci. 1992 Mar;101(Pt 3):547–559. doi: 10.1242/jcs.101.3.547. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hawley R. S., Irick H., Zitron A. E., Haddox D. A., Lohe A., New C., Whitley M. D., Arbel T., Jang J., McKim K. There are two mechanisms of achiasmate segregation in Drosophila females, one of which requires heterochromatic homology. Dev Genet. 1992;13(6):440–467. doi: 10.1002/dvg.1020130608. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kimble M., Church K. Meiosis and early cleavage in Drosophila melanogaster eggs: effects of the claret-non-disjunctional mutation. J Cell Sci. 1983 Jul;62:301–318. doi: 10.1242/jcs.62.1.301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Komma D. J., Horne A. S., Endow S. A. Separation of meiotic and mitotic effects of claret non-disjunctional on chromosome segregation in Drosophila. EMBO J. 1991 Feb;10(2):419–424. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07963.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McDonald H. B., Goldstein L. S. Identification and characterization of a gene encoding a kinesin-like protein in Drosophila. Cell. 1990 Jun 15;61(6):991–1000. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90064-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. O'Tousa J. Meiotic chromosome behavior influenced by mutation-altered disjunction in Drosophila melanogaster females. Genetics. 1982 Nov;102(3):503–524. doi: 10.1093/genetics/102.3.503. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rasooly R. S., New C. M., Zhang P., Hawley R. S., Baker B. S. The lethal(1)TW-6cs mutation of Drosophila melanogaster is a dominant antimorphic allele of nod and is associated with a single base change in the putative ATP-binding domain. Genetics. 1991 Oct;129(2):409–422. doi: 10.1093/genetics/129.2.409. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Robbins L. G. Nonexchange alignment: a meiotic process revealed by a synthetic meiotic mutant of Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Gen Genet. 1971;110(2):144–166. doi: 10.1007/BF00332645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sequeira W., Nelson C. R., Szauter P. Genetic analysis of the claret locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1989 Nov;123(3):511–524. doi: 10.1093/genetics/123.3.511. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sturtevant A H, Beadle G W. The Relations of Inversions in the X Chromosome of Drosophila Melanogaster to Crossing over and Disjunction. Genetics. 1936 Sep;21(5):554–604. doi: 10.1093/genetics/21.5.554. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Theurkauf W. E., Hawley R. S. Meiotic spindle assembly in Drosophila females: behavior of nonexchange chromosomes and the effects of mutations in the nod kinesin-like protein. J Cell Biol. 1992 Mar;116(5):1167–1180. doi: 10.1083/jcb.116.5.1167. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Wald H. Cytologic Studies on the Abnormal Development of the Eggs of the Claret Mutant Type of Drosophila Simulans. Genetics. 1936 May;21(3):264–281. doi: 10.1093/genetics/21.3.264. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Zhang P., Knowles B. A., Goldstein L. S., Hawley R. S. A kinesin-like protein required for distributive chromosome segregation in Drosophila. Cell. 1990 Sep 21;62(6):1053–1062. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90383-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES