In a bicoid mutant Drosophila ................... will form ?a)2 head ...
Caudal gene shows its effect in anterior side also as bicoid won’t be able to inhibit its transcription. Hence, tail will form at both the sides.
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In a bicoid mutant Drosophila ................... will form ?a)2 head ...
In a bicoid mutant Drosophila, the formation of two tails on either side of the organism will occur. This is because bicoid is a maternal effect gene that plays a crucial role in establishing the anterior-posterior axis during early embryonic development in Drosophila. Let's understand the process in detail:
1. Introduction:
- Bicoid is a protein that is localized at the anterior end of the embryo and is synthesized by the mother during oogenesis.
- The bicoid mRNA is localized to the anterior pole of the oocyte and is translated into the Bicoid protein, which forms a concentration gradient along the anterior-posterior axis of the embryo.
2. Normal Development:
- In a normal embryo, the Bicoid protein gradient serves as a morphogen, providing positional information for the development of different segments.
- High concentrations of Bicoid protein at the anterior end of the embryo lead to the activation of genes involved in head formation.
- Lower concentrations of Bicoid protein towards the posterior end activate genes involved in thoracic and abdominal segment development.
3. Bicoid Mutant:
- In a bicoid mutant, the bicoid gene is non-functional or absent, resulting in the absence of the Bicoid protein.
- Without the Bicoid protein, there is no concentration gradient to provide positional information for the development of different segments along the anterior-posterior axis.
4. Formation of Two Tails:
- In the absence of the Bicoid protein, the head development genes are not activated, leading to the absence of head structures.
- Instead, the genes involved in abdominal and posterior development are activated, resulting in the formation of two tails on either side of the organism.
- The two tails are formed because the posterior development genes are activated on both sides of the embryo, rather than being restricted to the posterior end.
In conclusion, in a bicoid mutant Drosophila, the absence of the Bicoid protein leads to the activation of genes involved in posterior development, resulting in the formation of two tails on either side of the organism.