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The mutation I.3.2 was previously identified in a FLP/FRT screen of chromosome 2R for conditional growth regulators. Here we report the phenotypic characterization and genetic mapping of I.3.2 by undergraduate students participating in Fly-CURE, a pedagogical program that teaches the science of genetics through a classroom research experience. We find that creation of I.3.2 cell clones in the developing eye-antennal imaginal disc causes a headless adult phenotype, suggestive of both autonomous and non-autonomous effects on cell growth or viability. We also identify the I.3.2 mutation as a loss-of-function allele of the gene centromere identifier (cid), which encodes centromere-specific histone H3 variant critical for chromosomal segregation.
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This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2026
The M.3.2 mutation in Drosophila melanogaster mapped as a novel allele of tout-velu
In Drosophila melanogaster genetic screens are often used to identify genes associated with different biological processes. Here, we have utilized the Flp/FRT system to generate mitotic clones within the developing eye. These clones were screened for mutations that disrupt cell division, organ patterning, and cell growth. One such mutation from this screen, mutant M.3.2, resulted in an expansion of the cuticle within the area normally covered by ommatidium as well as an overall smaller eye size. Genetic and molecular mapping revealed this mutation to be in the gene, tout-velu (ttv).
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- PAR ID:
- 10630845
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- microPublication Biology
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- microPublication biology
- Volume:
- 2025
- ISSN:
- 2578-9430
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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The mutation I.3.2 was previously identified in a FLP/FRT screen of chromosome 2R for conditional growth regulators. Here we report the phenotypic characterization and genetic mapping of I.3.2 by undergraduate students participating in Fly-CURE, a pedagogical program that teaches the science of genetics through a classroom research experience. We find that creation of I.3.2 cell clones in the developing eye-antennal imaginal disc causes a headless adult phenotype, suggestive of both autonomous and non-autonomous effects on cell growth or viability. We also identify the I.3.2 mutation as a loss-of-function allele of the gene centromere identifier (cid), which encodes centromere-specific histone H3 variant critical for chromosomal segregation.more » « less
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