The Molecular Consequences of Formaldehyde and Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis in Drosophila: Analysis of Mutants in the Alcohol Dehydrogenase Gene

Abstract

Chemical mutagenesis is a process whose analysis is complicated by the large number of possible reactions of mutagens and their byproducts with the genetic material, and the variety of pathways by which a mutational lesion can be repaired (1,2). One simplying factor, however, is that in some organisms the final result of a mutagenic pathway can be deduced, or directly assessed, by examination of the gene or gene product affected by the mutation. For example, by isolating and sequencing a protein that is a product of a mutant gene, one can deduce from the amino acid sequence, the nature of the nucleotide lesion. Similarly, by comparing the nucleotide sequence of a mutant gene with its wild-type counterpart, one can directly determine the nature of the nucleotide defect.