SUBJECT

Title

Advanced Drosophila genetics

Type of instruction

practical

Level

master

Part of degree program
Credits

1

Recommended in

Semesters 1-4

Typically offered in

Autumn/Spring semester

Course description

1. Drosophila as a model organism. Distinguishing males and females, collecting virgins. Balancer chromosomes and phenotypic markers.

2. Types and uses of transpozons (mutagenesis, enhancer trapping, trangenic systems). Transgenic flies I.: flies carrying fusion proteins.

3. Transgenic flies II.: the Gal4-UAS system, overexpression studies. Crosses of Gal4 driver and UAS flies.

4. P element remobilization, generating revertants and microdeletion mutants I. P1 crosses using stocks that carry P elements and transposase sources.

5. Transgenic flies III.: the Gal4-UAS system, overexpression studies. Evaluation of previous crosses.

6. P element remobilization, generating revertants and microdeletion mutants II. Collecting F1 jumpstarter males and setting up F1 crosses.

7. Somatic recombination. Gain of function and loss of function clones (twin spots) in larval and imaginal tissues.

8. P element remobilization, generating revertants and microdeletion mutants III. Collecting F2 white-eyed males and setting up stocks.

9. Studying eye-and head-specific loss of function clones I. Setting up crosses.

10. P element remobilization, generating revertants and microdeletion mutants IV. Identifying potential microdeletions: crosses with deletion-bearing stocks, PCR.

11. Studying eye-and head-specific loss of function clones II. Evaluating the phenotypes.

12. P element remobilization, generating revertants and microdeletion mutants V. Evaluating the results.

13. Gain of function clones. Crosses of Flp-out Gal4 and Flp, UAS-X flies.

14. Evaluating the crosses: gain of function (and RNAi) clones in larval fat body.

Readings