The v 24 Allele is a Missense Mutation Within the Predicted Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase Protein Domain of vermilion.

Abstract

Many loss-of-function mutations in the Drosophila vermilion ( v ) gene have been described. However, the causal mutation in the common v ²⁴ allele is unknown. We sequenced different v alleles ( v ²⁴ , v ⁺ , and v ¹ ) to identify candidate v ²⁴ mutations. We identified a single T>A missense mutation shared among the three v ²⁴ chromosomes, resulting in a Phe>Ile amino acid change within the predicted tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase protein domain. This same T>A missense mutation has been independently shown to result in a v ^- phenotype by Nivard et al., 1993 and is therefore strong corroborating evidence that this mutation is causal for the v ^- phenotype in the v ²⁴ allele.