It is well known that the number of facets in the Bar-eyed mutant of
Drosophila melanogaster varies under different environmental conditions. Recently, Ogaki
et al. ('53), Kaji ('54, '55, '56) and Ogaki ('56) showed that facets increased in number when the larvae were raised on media containing various chemicals. In his experiments, Ogaki confirmed that ammonium lactate was the most effective in increasing them in
B (bb)-1,
B (coiso) and
B; e11 strains, a condition as in the wild type being attained in each stock. He also noted that some kinds of chemicals showed marked difference in efficiency among Bar-eyed strains From the results of a series of such experiments, he supposed that in the Bar-eyed mutant the protein and nucleic acid syntheses were more or less hampered, and this might be the reason why only a small number of facets were developed. On the other hand, Kaji has contended that facet-increasing substances must have an amide linkage (-CO•NH-) in their molecular configuration.
In the present work, experiments have been performed with six Bar-eyed mutant strains, namely,
B; e
11,
B; e11 (coiso), B (bb)-1,
B(bb)-2,
B (coiso) and
B we strains These stocks differ considerably in their sensitivity to chemicals. Generally speaking,
B; e11 strain is the most and
B we strains is the least sensitive to all the chemicals used with the exception of uracil. These results, which are in essential agreement with a similar conclusion previously arrived at by Ogaki, would suggest that many modifiers probably are contributing to the manifestation of the Bar gene.
Peptone has a striking effect of increasing the facet number of many Bar-eyed strains, so that their compound eye appears almost like that of the wild type. It seems very probable that the substance is utilized as a source of protein synthesis in the eye discs, after it has been decomposed into various amino acids in the larval body. If this is shown to be the case, the above result will substantiate the working hypothesis suggested by Ogaki in his previous paper.
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