Double or nothing: A Drosophila mutation affecting meiotic chromosome segregation in both females and males

Abstract

We describe a Drosophila mutation, Double or nothing (Dub), that causes meiotic nondisjunction in a conditional, dominant manner. Previously isolated mutations in Drosophila specifically affect meiosis either in females or males, with the exception of the mei-S332 and ord genes which are required for proper sister-chromatid cohesion. Dub is unusual in that it causes aberrant chromosome segregation almost exclusively in meiosis I in both sexes. In Dub mutant females both nonexchange and exchange chromosomes undergo nondisjunction, but the effect of Dub on nonexchange chromosomes is more pronounced. Dub reduces recombination levels slightly. Multiple nondisjoined chromosomes frequently cosegregate to the same pole. Dub results in nondisjunction of all chromosomes in meiosis I of males, although the levels are lower than in females. When homozygous, Dub is a conditional lethal allele and exhibits phenotypes consistent with cell death.