Summary
At the restrictive temperature (29° C), ring glands of the temperature-sensitive mutant ‘ecdysoneless-1’ (ecd-1) of Drosophila secrete ecdysteroids in vitro at a low rate compared to wild-type. The ring gland, brain and also the larval salivary glands of non-pupariating ecd-1 larvae are smaller than wild-type and this lack of tissue development may be a major factor determining the low rate of ecdysteroid secretion by the ring gland. A heat pulse in larval development causes cell death in imaginal disc tissues and the adults emerging after such treatment display a variety of morphological abnormalities. These effects suggest that the ecd-1 mutation is a temperature-sensitive cell lethal and has more general effects on cell and tissue growth than has been supposed. Furthermore, we interpret the autonomous ovarian defects of ecd-1 females at the restrictive temperature in terms of non-lethal effects on the follicle epithelial cells. The diverse phenotypic effects of this mutation may represent autonomous pleiotropy and we urge caution in interpreting the defects of ecd-1 flies only in terms of ecdysteroid deficiency.
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Redfern, C.P.F., Bownes, M. Pleiotropic effects of the ‘ecdysoneless-1’ mutation of Drosophila melanogaster . Molec. Gen. Genet. 189, 432–440 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00325905
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00325905