Pattern triplications following genetic ablation on the wing ofDrosophila : Effect of eliminating thepolyhomeotic gene.

The effects ofpolyhomeotic (ph) mutants in imaginal cells have been studied in a clonal analysis. Clones of cells, homozygous forph, sort-out after a few divisions, probably as a consequence of modified cell affinities. The dorso-ventral margin of the wing has special characteristics that retard this phenomenon. The formation and exclusion of a clone of 8-16 cells affect the polarity of the wild-type neighbour cells and can provoke pattern triplications. The results suggest that a defect in intercellular communication prevents the wild-type cells from maintaining coordinated positional information. The cells react by regenerative growth, and reorganize into a new pattern. The pleiotropic phenotypes ofph mutants are explained according to a common hypothesis aboutph + function.