Electron microscopical analysis of Drosophila polytene chromosomes. III. Mapping of puffs developing from one band.

Mapping of 16 regions of polytene chromosomes in which 18 one-band puffs develop was carried out with the use of electron microscopy (EM). In most cases a uniform decondensation of the whole band was observed. However, there were examples in which only a part of the band was activated (three puffs) or its right and left parts decondensed simultaneously (three puffs). Splitting of the band into two parts with their further decondensation was also found (one puff). This suggests structural and functional complexity of the bands. On the basis of the data obtained here and those published earlier, a classification of 52 puffs by the number of bands participating in their formation is given. Four classes numbering 22, 21, 7, 2 puffs, developing from 1, 2, 3 and 4 bands, respectively, are revealed. The data show that active chromosome regions are rather diverse in both the pattern of decondensation and expansion of the decondensed region, thus providing evidence of the informational complexity of the majority of active regions.