Characterization of kayak (kay) mutant phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster eye development
Authors: Manuel Alejandro Zúniga-García 1,2; Juan Riesgo-Escovar 2
Affiliations: 1) Maestría en Ciencias (Neurobiología); 2) Instituto de Neurobiología (INB), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla.
Keywords: f. eye disc; f. eye disc
During development, kayak (kay) is a pleiotropic gene transcribed in many places and stages. We characterized the eye phenotypes of three kay alleles. We generated mutant clones for kay2, kay3, and kay4 using the FLP/FRT system, and analyzed them by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mutant kay2 and kay4 clones exhibit bristle defects by SEM. kay3 mutant clones show ommatidium and bristle defects by SEM, and sport big cuticule indentations in the medial-anterior eye region. Semithin optical sections analysis revealed ommatidium polarity and photoreceptor formation defects (ommatidiums with fewer photoreceptors). Taken together, these results indicate that kay plays an important role in eye development.