Dear Eli,
I'm afraid I can't tell how FlyBase came to use crb1 and crb2 for these two alleles.
Initially, I thought it came down to us inheriting the nomenclature from Lindsley and Zimm's Red Book (1992).  In that book, allele superscripts used in the classic genetic screens were systematically renamed using a simple sequential numbering system.
However, looking at the Red Book just now, no specific crb alleles are listed….
Regardless, given that both published precedence and usage in the literature supports using crb8F105 and crb11A22 for crb1 and crb2, respectively, I will rename them in FlyBase forthwith.
You should see this in the FB2012_05 release.
Steven Marygold
FlyBase
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I have a question concerning the nomenclature of crb alleles. Flybase lists crb1 and crb2 as EMS-induced. I guess that these are the alleles identified in the screen of Nüsslein-Volhard, Wieschaus and Juergens. The crb alleles listed in their paper are called crb11A22 and crb8F105, and we are sticking to these names. I guess it would be useful to have a common nomenclature.
   Best regards,
   Eli Knust