Mutagen sensitivity of Drosophila melanogaster. V. Identification of second chromosomal mutagen sensitive strains.

Six recessive second chromosomal mutants of Drosophila melanogaster exhibiting larval hypersensitivity to methyl methanesulfonate have been identified and assigned to six complementation groups. The strains have been analyzed for their sensitivities to UV, X-ray, nitrogen mustard and formaldehyde. Two classes of mutants not previously observed in Drosophila have been identified. The mus 204A1 and mus 205A1 mutants exhibit sensitivity to MMS and UV but not X-ray or nitrogen mustard, while the mus 206A1 and mus 207A1 mutants display sensitivity to MMS, UV, and nitrogen mustard. Four of the seven strains exhibit poor female fertility and two of these are shown to have a weak meiotic disjunctional defect. Biochemical studies of the mus 205A1 mutant suggest a defect in DNA synthetic ability associated with excision and postreplication repair performed on UV and alkylation-damaged templates (Boyd and Harris 1981; Brown and Boyd 1981 b; R.L. Dusenbery, manuscript in preparation).