GENETIC AND PHYSICAL STUDIES OF A PORTION OF THE WHITE LOCUS PARTICIPATING IN TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION AND IN SYNAPSIS-DEPENDENT INTERACTIONS IN DROSOPHILA ADULT TISSUES

Dan Davison ¹, Carolyn H. Chapman ¹, Cathy Wedeen ¹, and Paul M. Bingham ¹

¹ Department of Biochemistry, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York 11794

We have identified and sequenced the portion of the white locus affected by an idiosyncratic set of white mutant alleles (the w^sp alleles). The affected white locus portion (w^sp region) extends from ca. 590 base pairs (bp) to ca. 1270 bp 5' to the apparent start site for the major white transcription unit. Based on the properties of these mutant alleles, we infer the existence of two distinct cis-acting regulatory elements in the w^sp region and a third element mapping 3' to this region (3' to position ca. -670). Our analysis allows us to define the apparent position of one of the two w^sp region elements with substantial precision. Examination of the DNA sequences in this region suggests that it is functionally similar to the enhancers identified in vertebrates. This same element participates in synapsis-dependent genetic interactions, suggesting a largely unexpected relationship between enhancer-like, cis-acting genetic elements and the genetic elements responsible for the synapsis-dependent genetic interactions in trans revealed by the existence of transvection effects. Our results further suggest that a presumptive regulatory locus (suppressor-of-white-spotted) regulates white transcription in adult tissues and is not involved in regulating white expression in larvae. We discuss the regulation of white expression in light of our studies. We also demonstrate unusual structures for an X-ray-induced deletion and a spontaneous deletion.

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