Purine transport by malpighian tubules of pteridine-deficient eye color mutants of Drosophila melanogaster

Biochem Genet. 1979 Jun;17(5-6):565-73. doi: 10.1007/BF00498891.

Abstract

Uptakes of guanine into Malpighian tubules of wild-type Drosophila and the eye color mutants white (w), brown (bw), and pink-peach (pp) have been compared. Tubules for each of these mutants are unable to concentrate guanine intracellularly. The transport of xanthine and riboflavin is also deficient in w tubules. The transport of guanosine, adenine, hypoxanthine, and guanosine monophosphate is similar in wild-type and white Malpighian tubules. These data and other information about these mutants make it likely that these pteridine-deficient eye color mutants do not produce pigments because of the inability to transport a pteridine precursor. This view supports the hypothesis that mutants which lack both pteridine and ommochromes do so because precursors to both classes of pigments share a common transport system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Transport
  • Cloaca / metabolism*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster / metabolism*
  • Eye Color
  • Guanine / metabolism*
  • Malpighian Tubules / metabolism*
  • Mutation*
  • Riboflavin / metabolism
  • Xanthines / metabolism

Substances

  • Xanthines
  • Guanine
  • Riboflavin