Personal communication from Robert Levis, 23 June 2000
Subject: P{wAR} and P{wA} insertions 
The following insertions have multiple designations in FlyBase that need 
to be merged. They were originally described in Levis et al., 1985, Science 
 229:558--561 , and are indicated below with the cytology-based designation 
derived from that reference.
P{wAR}49D aka P{wAR}4-3+4-49b.  This was an induced transposition 
from the 40A insertion P{wAR}4-3 to 49D that retained the 40A 
insertion.  There is a stock with both insertions in the Bloomington 
stock center (BL-P912).  This stock is noted in the P{wAR}4-3+4-49b 
record but not the P{wAR}49D record. The P{wAR}4-3+4-49b record 
lists only the 49D insertion site.
P{wAR}45D aka P{wAR}4-3+4-45a.  Again, this was an induced transposition 
from the 40A insertion P{wAR}4-3 to 45D. There is a stock with both
insertions in the Bloomington stock center (BL-P924).  This stock is
noted in the P{wAR}4-3+4-45a record but not the P{wAR}45D
record.  The P{wAR}4-3+4-45a record lists only the 40A insertion
site.
P{wAR}91AB - I could not find P{wAR}91AB in the list of P insertions 
in the 91AB region.  However, there are two insertions in the database that 
I am certain are the same as this one.  They are designated P{wAR}fru0-1 
and P{wAR}fru2.  Our original isolation name for this insertion was O-1 
(letter O, number 1) and that would have been the name in the Rubin lab 
stocks.  The reference for fruO-1 is Moses, Ellis and Rubin (1989) 
(FBrf0050650).  I haven't looked for this paper, but I infer from the 
allele name that after I left the Rubin lab, Kevin Moses et al. apparently 
determined that this was an insertion near fru. Either he or someone else 
named the allele fruO-1.  The primary reference listed for fru2 in Flybase 
is: Gailey and Hall, 1989 Genetics 121: 773--785 (FBrf0049929).  The Materials 
& Methods of that paper states: "P(w+)ARO-1 is a transposon...derived from 
moblilization of the transposon P(w,ry)A<up>R4-3 and reinsertion at the 
cytogenetic region 91B1,2 (Levis, Hazelrigg and Rubin 1985; K. Moses, personal
communication).  This transposon is maintained in the stock w1118,
TM3/ARO-1, which was provided to us by K. Moses and G.M. Rubin."  In this paper 
Gailey and Hall refer to the insertion as ARO-1, but never designate it as an 
allele of fru.  It was evidently renamed fru2.  The gene report for fru 
lists O-1 and 2 as separate alleles even though it seems clear to me that 
they are the same.
P{wAR}94E - I could not find P{wAR}94E in the list of 94E
insertions.  However, I did find P{wAR}4-94, which was the designation
that I originally gave a stock with this inserion when I sent it to 
the Bloomington stock center.  In addition, Flybase lists an 
insertion P{wAR}unkOR20 that is almost certainly the same thing. 
Our original name for this insertion was "O20(1C)".  The references 
for P{wAR}unkOR20 are
Mohler et al. 1991, 1992, 1995.  I don't have copies of these papers
or journals handy.  But Mohler and Vasilakis 1992 (DIS 71: 250), in a
paper about a daeh mutation on a TM3 chromosome, state "We obtained
this variant TM3 chromosome,..., from B. Levis in a strain carrying
a P(w,ry)A insertion in the unkempt locus in 94E (Levis et al.
1985)..."
P{wAR}92B - In Levis et al. 1985 we reported two independent hops from
AR4-3 to 92B.  Flybase lists one of these insertions as 
P{wAR}4-921, which is the name I gave for one of these stocks when 
I sent it to the Bloomington stock center.  I suggest designating the 
second P{wAR}4-922.
P{wA}l(2)46C - The 46C insertion derived from transposition of P{wA}4-4 
(as described by Levis et al. 1985) is designated P{wAR}4-46 in FlyBase.  
The R here is incorrect, this should be simply P{wA}4-46 (or P{wA}46C, 
if you prefer).  The second record for this same insertion is 
P{wA}l(2)46CbN21.  Our original name for this insertion was N21 and
the record for P{wA}l(2)46CbN21 lists Levis et al. 1985 as the
reference for the cytogenetic location.  The other reference for
P{wA}l(2)46CbN21 is O'Brien et al. 1994, in which Levis et al. 1985
is referenced for the N21 insertion.
P{wAR}34E - An unpublished insertion in 34E is designated in 
Flybase as P{wAR}4-34.  This was a transposition from an 
unpublished 41A insertion originally called B133-0923. My original 
name for the 34E insertion was 11P.  There is another 34E insertion 
in Flybase designated P{wAR}rk11P.  The only reference given in 
the record for this insertion is Roote et al. 1997.6.2, which is a 
personal communication that I can't make sense out of (it may not be
the right reference).  The record for the rk11P allele lists
P{wAR}B133-0923 as the progenitor and R. Levis as the discoverer.
The following insertions I would prefer to change to a consistent
designation:
The insertion at 10D is currently designated P{wAR}038. I prefer 
P{wAR}4-10 or P{wAR}10D.
You might also want to edit the Flybase records for the 41A insertion
B133-0923 and two insertions derived by transpositions from it.  The 41A
insertion is designated P{wAR}B133-0923.  This was the original 
isolation number for this stock.  When I sent the stock to the 
Bloomington stock center,  I called it P(w,r)A<up>R4-0923 (not listed in 
Flybase).  I suggest designating this insertion P{wAR}4-41 or P{wAR}41A. 
This insertion confers a yellow-red speckled eye color because of PEV on 
the white transgene.  Sass & Henikoff 1998 (FBrf0102004) studied the 
modification of the eye color of this transgene insertion by Suvars & Evars.  
They refer to it simply as B133.  You might want to add this reference and 
B133 and P{wAR}4-0923 as synonyms to the record for this insertion.  The
two insertions derived from B133-0923 are designated in Flybase as 
P{wAR}4-0923+4-49a and P{wAR}4-0923+4-52a.  The records for each
of these insertions list the only cytogenetic location as 41A.
However, there are stocks for both in Bloomington and if you look up
the stock records, you find that P{wAR}4-0923+4-49a has both a 41A
insertion and a 49C insertion and that P{wAR}4-0923+4-52a has both
a 41A insertion and a 52C insertion.  As with some of the 40A-derived 
transpositions, these two transpositions from 41A retained the 
original insertion.  There is no indication in these Flybase records 
that the 41A insertion in P{wAR}4-0923+4-49a and P{wAR}4-0923+4-52a 
is the same as the insertion designated P{wAR}B133-0923.  You might want 
to consider renaming P{wAR}4-0923+4-49a, P{wAR}4-0923+4-52a,
P{wAR}4-3+4-45a and P{wAR}4-3+4-49b.  I suggest designating these 
P{wAR}49C, P{wAR}52C, P{wAR}45D and P{wAR}49D, respectively.
_________________________
Robert W. Levis
Syracuse University
Department of Biology
Biological Research Labs
130 College Place
Syracuse, NY 13244-1220
_________________________