A.M.A. (Acid Methyl Alchol) extracts of the egg and eye pigment components of some egg and eye color mutants of the silkworm, several wild-silkworms and
Drosophila melanogaster have been discriminated by paper chromatography using formic acid as a solvent. The results obtained are as follows:
1. Three pigments (orange, red and purple) with Rf values of 0.82, 0.76 and 0.50 are found in the eye of the normal type of the silkworm, and denominated as +chrome-I, +chrome-II and +chrome-III respectively. It has been ascertained from the investigations on the absorption curve and some other biochemical properties that these three pigment components are also found in the egg of normal silkworm and the eye of the wild-silkworm.
2. The compound eyes of
w1, (white-1) and
w2 (white-2) do not contain those three pigments, but the compound eye of
w3 (white-3) contains three pigments as that of normal. The eye of
re (red) contains large amounts of +chroine-I, containing no +chrome-II and III, while
od (distinct oily) and
w3wol strains contain a little three pigments.
3. On the serosa of the silkworm egg,
w1 lacks the three pigments and
re contains +chrome-I only as in the eye, and both
od and
spain (brown color egg) contain small quantities of those three pigments. The eggs of
w2,
w3 and non-hybernating normal, colored by CO
2 treatment, have an orange pigment, which is similar to +chrome-I, though not yet has been identified.
4. As to the appearances of these three pigments in the egg and eye, it is observable that at first +chrome-I is formed, which is followed by the formation of +chrome-II and +chrome-III.
5. As +chrome-I has a peak at 450mμ and it changes to yellow on addition of H
2O
2 and a pink precipitate is formed on reduction with sodium hydrosulfite, so the +chrome-I is closely similar to the brown pigment of
Drosophila. But +chrome-II does not show any peak between 300-540mμ, though +chrome-III has a peak at 520mμ, and both pigments become colorless on addition of H
2O
2, showing no change by the treatment of hydrosulfite.
6. From the histological investigation on the pigments in the compound eye, it has been ascertained that
re contains most of the red pigment granules in the crystalline part and few in the retinular cell and rhabdomal part, and this feature of the pigment distribution is resembled to that of the eye of normal pupa expected to eclose in four or five days. Although only red pigment granules are distributed in the egg serosa of
re, but in the normal egg brownish purple pigment granules are observable showing no existence of red pigment granules, notwithstanding the existence of orange and red pigments distinguishable by paper chromatography. From the above mentioned results, it may be concluded that
re is a mutant whether lacking the enzyme or enzyme like substance converting precursor into +chrome-II and III or impossible to form II and III owing to some other unknown factors.
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