Fig. 1. In the somatic ovary, da^lyh is a null allele. (A) Diagram of the anterior Drosophila ovariole. The long bracket indicates the germarium, where stem cell divisions occur and follicle formation takes place. The somatic cells are shaded; the positions of the germline and somatic stem cells are indicated. (B-E) Ovarioles stained with the nuclear dye DAPI. The wild-type ovariole (B) illustrates normal ovarian morphology. By contrast, homozygous (da^lyh/da^lyh, C) and hemizygous (da^lyh/da^-: not shown) mutant ovaries from mature females exhibit gross disruptions in oogenesis, including the formation of multicyst follicles, failure of follicle individualization, and degeneration of late-stage cysts. The identification of da^lyh as an ovarian null allele is evident from a comparison of da^lyh/da^lyh and da^lyh/da² ovaries (da² is a lethal null allele.). Even in ovaries from newly eclosed mutant females, where the phenotype is least severe, da^lyh/da² (D) and da^lyh/da^lyh (E) mutant ovaries are indistinguishable. In each panel anterior is upwards or towards the left; the magnification of D,E is approximately twice that of B,C.

Return to article