Partial correction of structural defects in alcohol dehydrogenase through interallelic complementation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) from the F1 progeny of all pairwise crosses between 12 null-activity mutants and crosses between these mutants and four active variants, ADHn5 ADHF, ADHD and ADHS, were analyzed for the presence of active or inactive heterodimers. Gels were stained for ADH enzyme activity, and protein blots of duplicate gels were probed with ADH-specific antibody to detect cross-reacting material. Crosses between the three major electrophoretic variants. ADHF, ADHS and ADHD, all produced active heterodimers. Four mutant proteins (ADHn2, ADHn4, ADHn10 and ADHn13) did not form heterodimers with any other ADH subunit tested. Of the 28 crosses involving the remaining null activity mutants, 22 produce heterodimers. Twelve of these exhibit partial restoration of enzyme activity. In five cases of active heterodimers from null-activity crosses, Adhn11 supplied one of the subunits. In two crosses involving the active variant ADHD, the null activity mutant subunits (ADHn8 and ADHn3) destabilized the heterodimer sufficiently to cause inactivation of the ADHD subunit. In the cross between AdhF and Adhn3, the activity of the ADHF subunit was also greatly reduced in association with the ADHn3 subunit. Two crosses (Adhn1 X Adhn11 and Adhn5 X Adhn12) result in partial restoration of one of the homodimeric proteins (ADHn1 and ADHn12, respectively), as well as forming active heterodimers.