Merrill, C., Bayraktaroglu, L., Kusano, A., Ganetzky, B. (1999). Truncated RanGAP encoded by the Segregation Distorter locus of Drosophila. Science 283(5408): 1742--1745.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0107886
Publication Type
Research paper
Abstract
Segregation Distorter (SD) in Drosophila melanogaster is a naturally occurring meiotic drive system in which the SD chromosome is transmitted from SD/SD+ males in vast excess over its homolog owing to the induced dysfunction of SD+-bearing spermatids. The Sd locus is the key distorting gene responsible for this phenotype. A genomic fragment from the Sd region conferred full distorting activity when introduced into the appropriate genetic background by germline transformation. The only functional product encoded by this fragment is a truncated version of the RanGAP nuclear transport protein. These results demonstrate that this mutant RanGAP is the functional Sd product.