Restoration of fertility in sterilized Drosophila eggs by transplantation of polar cytoplasm

Abstract

A technique for transplantation of cytoplasm between Drosophila eggs is described. Polar cytoplasm of newly laid eggs was first made ineffective for the determination of germ cells by UV irradiation. The sterility which results from this UV irradiation could be prevented by the injection of polar cytoplasm, but not by the injection of anterior cytoplasm from unirradiated donor eggs. The results provide the first demonstration of transplantation of agents causing determination in an insect and also provide a bioassay for these agents. Microscopical observations of UV irradiated eggs with and without transplanted polar cytoplasm revealed that UV irradiation delays the migration of cleavage nuclei into the posterior periplasm and prevents cytoplasmic protrusions at the posterior pole from becoming isolated from the periplasm to form pole cells. Transplantation of polar cytoplasm repairs these defects.