Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland. nairz@zool.unizh.ch
We report the use of the cross-linking drug hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), which introduces small deletions, as a mutagen suitable for reverse genetics in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. A compatible mutation-detection method based on resolution of PCR fragment-length polymorphisms on standard DNA sequencers is implemented. As the spectrum of HMPA-induced mutations is similar in a variety of organisms, it should be possible to transfer this mutagenesis and detection procedure to other model systems.