Hybrid Dysgenesis in Drosophila and the Stochastic Loss Hypothesis
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
Many Drosophila melanogaster genomes appear to carry multiple copies of an apparently mobile element known as the P factor. The positions and numbers of these elements vary widely from one strain to the next, and most long-established laboratory strains (usually 10 years or older) lack it completely. The P factor is defined by its ability to bring about, under certain well-specified conditions, a state called hybrid dysgenesis in which various germ-line abnormalities, including high mutability, the production of chromosomal rearrangements, and temperature-sensitive sterility, can be observed. In addition to the P factor, at least one other similar element, the I factor, is capable of causing hybrid dysgenesis. This element, which differs from the P factor in the details of its associated dysgenic state, is present in wild flies and also in many of the laboratory strains of intermediate age which lack the P factor. In this paper I review the...
