What color eyes do wild-type Drosophila have?

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster possesses disproportionately large, often vividly colored eyes. These range in color from red to sepia to white and indicate a great deal about the fly’s genetic makeup. Some fruit flies bred in the wild have red eyes.

What is special about the eye color trait in Drosophila?

The eye color gene is located on the X chromosome (one of the sex determining chromosomes of Drosophila). White eye color is recessive. When a red eyed male mates with white eyed females, their daughters will have red eyes, but their sons will have white eyes.

What mutation causes sepia eye color in Drosophila?

The eye colour mutant sepia (se1) is defective in PDA {6-acetyl-2-amino-3,7,8,9-tetrahydro-4H-pyrimido[4,5-b]-[1,4]diazepin-4-one or pyrimidodiazepine} synthase involved in the conversion of 6-PTP (2-amino-4-oxo-6-pyruvoyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropteridine; also known as 6-pyruvoyltetrahydropterin) into PDA, a key …

What gene is mutated in white eyed flies?

The Drosophila gene w (CG2759) is a central part of the eye-pigmentation pathway. It encodes an ATP binding cassette transporter, White (O’Hare et al., 1984; Pepling and Mount, 1990), that forms dimers with either Brown or Scarlet proteins, encoded by brown and scarlet genes respectively.

Why do flies have white eyes?

They have a defect in their “white” gene, which normally produces the red pigments in the eye. In these flies, the white gene only works partially, producing fewer red pigments than it should. These flies have white eyes.

Can female Drosophila have white eyes?

All of the females and all of the males will have red eyes. All of the females will have white eyes; half of the males will have red eyes, and half of the males will have white eyes.

Can female flies have white eyes?

Are sepia eyes dominant or recessive?

Sepia eyes (se, 3; 26.0) are an autosomal recessive trait on Chromosome 3 that produces a dark brown eye color.

Are red or white eyes dominant in Drosophila?

Red eye color is wild-type and is dominant to white eye color. Eye color in Drosophila was one of the first X-linked traits to be identified. Thomas Hunt Morgan mapped this trait to the X chromosome in 1910. Like humans, Drosophila males have an XY chromosome pair, and females are XX.

Can a female fly have white eyes?

Are white-eyed flies blind?

White-eyed flies are not blind; instead they are easily temporarily blinded by bright light at certain frequencies because they lack the protection provided by the red and brown pigments. The human version of white is ABCG1, and is involved in transporting lipids and cholesterol into cells.

Are there mutations in the eye pigment gene in Drosophila?

There are many mutant variations of Drosophila with mutations in eye pigment, body pigment, body bristles and wing shape or size. The mutant we worked with is Ebony which is one of three body color mutations. The yellow mutation is sex-linked gene which is located on a sex chromosome.

What does the white gene in Drosophila melanogaster do?

The white, brown and scarlet genes of Drosophila melanogaster encode proteins which transport guanine or tryptophan (precursors of the red and brown eye colour pigments) and belong to the ABC transporter superfamily.

What is the linkage between Drosophila and Mendelian genetics?

The chart below shows the complete linkage and mapping for Drosophila melanogaster. Each group was given a stock of wild type drosophila and a mutant type to work with. Our group was given the mutant type Ebony which has a black body.

Where are Ebony and brown mutations located in Drosophila?

Ebony and brown mutations are both autosomal recessive mutations and typically present with a 3:1 ration in favor of the wild type allele. Drosophila melanogaster have 4 chromosomes, all of which have been mapped out showing us that the ebony mutation is located on chromosome 3.