Within a few years of the rediscovery of Mendeľs rules in 1900,
Drosophila melanogaster (the so-called fruit fly) became a favorite
"model" organism for genetics research.
This little fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is one of the best understood
animal in terms of development. The fly uses two structures for smelling, its
antennae (visible at the tip of the head), and its maxillary palps (not visible
in the picture). Our interests is in understanding the development of the
adult olfactory system, which occurs during metamorphosis. The use of the
fly for the study of genes and mutations was largely introduced by Thomas
H. Morgan. Because of its short life cycle (11 days) and the ease of
breeding the fly has been intensively studied at the genetic level for ~100
years. The entire fly genome has now been sequenced, and we now know
that it has ~13,000 genes. The goal is to identify those genes that regulate
the development of the fly olfactory system.
Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945) received the
Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1933 for
his discoveries concerning the role chromosomes
play in heredity.
The giant ("polytene")
chromosomes in the salivary
(and other) glands of the
mature larvae.
* These chromosomes
show far more structural detail
than do normal chromosomes,
and
* they are present during
interphase when
chromosomes are normally
invisible.
Function of polyteny
is gene amplification leading to
incresed gene expression
consist of dark and light
bands, separated by
insulators.
Kultivační médium pro drozofily
Navážíme:
120 g kukuřičného šrotu
50 g cukru
25 g sušených kvasnic
14 g agaru
Vše smícháme v nádobě vhodné do mikrovlnné trouby, přidáme 1 l vody a
důkladně promícháme. V troubě vaříme 1×4 min, 1×3 min, 2×2 min. Vždy
promícháme.
Po uvaření přidáme 40 ml desinfekčního roztoku a rozléváme do připravených
sterilních nádob (sterilizace 1 hod při 100 °C). Na povrch média vložíme kole čko
sterilizovaného filtračního papíru prodírkovaného jehlou.
Příprava desinfekčního roztoku
Navážíme
12,5 g kyseliny benzoové
2,5 g kyseliny sorbové
Rozpustit v 240 ml etylalkoholu.
Drosophila
H4K16Ac
H3S10 phosphorylation
human C. elegans
Inaktivace X chromosomu ve vztahu k epigenetickým modifikacím
in mammals
Origin of figures: Chromosome Research, Special Issue ­ Drosophila ­
100 years after Morgan