Summary
Vein patterns have been studied in lines of Drosophila melanogaster selected for increased and for reduced expression of the mutants plexus and net. Within each selection line, and in certain crosses involving these and other vein mutants and selection lines, the pattern of extra venation at all levels of mutant expression is highly specific. Measurements of the position and frequency of vein fragments allowed a series of profiles to be constructed which represent the relative tendency to form veins at various positions on the wing. The general phenotypic effects of many vein mutants as well as the overall action of selected polygenic modifiers of vein length are discussed in relation to the resulting model of subthreshold developmental potential. Correlations between this subthreshold pattern and the veins of related Diptera suggest that many of the subthreshold veins may be remnants of ancestral venation.
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Thompson, J. Studies on the nature and function of polygenic loci in Drosophila. Heredity 33, 389–401 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1974.105
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1974.105
