Abstract
The transcription patterns of Drosophila melanogaster src, abl and two ras homologs were analyzed in normal Drosophila tissue, in neuroblasts derived from tumorous larval brain of the mutant lethal(2)giant larvae [l(2)gl] and in Schneider 2 tissue culture cells. Our results show that, in addition to constitutive transcripts, the src, abl, ras1 and ras3 genes express a set of maternal/embryonic-specific transcripts. By using these transcripts as differentiation markers we show that, in spite of their embryonic-like, undifferentiated phenotype, the l(2)gl transformed neuroblasts are authentic larval cells. Using the same criterion the Schneider 2 tissue culture cells show the characteristics of embryonic cells.
