Deposition of labeled beta-alanine in ebony and non-ebony Drosophila melanogaster with notes on other amino acids.

HE ebony mutant of Drosophila melanogaster shows a number of abnormalities in mating behavior which lead to lowered mating success. The movements of these ebony flies is slowed and apparently uncoordinated as compared with the wild type (JACOBS 1960). It was thought that this abnormal behavior as well as the correlated black body color may possibly result from aberrant amino acid metabolism. In preliminary attempts to detect differences in deposition rates of amino acids in ebony and non-ebony flies, 16 different C14 labeled amino acids were injected into the newly formed puparium stage of pupae, and radioactivity of pupa cases and body parts was determined. Of the injected amino acids, beta-alanine showed greater C'" deposition in the pupa cases of non-ebony than of ebony homozygotes, while ebony showed an increased rate of elimination of C1400,, as compared with non-ebony homozygotes. The heterozygotes were intermediate in these activities (JACOBS and BRUBAKER 1963). The present study was undertaken to make quantitative comparisons with other amino acids, to inject the adult stage of various stocks, and to determine by autoradiography in which part of the flies the beta-alanine derived C" is deposited.