Worm Breeder's Gazette 9(1): 70a
These abstracts should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
The semidominant allele her-1(n695) V causes partial masculinization of XX animals (see Trent and Wood abstract, this issue). Two X-linked suppressors of n695, ct28 and ct31, have been isolated from the F1 generation of gamma-ray-mutagenized n695 worms. Both are dominant suppressors of the n695 Tra phenotype and also exhibit a semi-dominant Dpy phenotype as single mutants. The Sup and Dpy phenotypes are tightly linked. Both ct28 and rt31 have been mapped to the region of egl-15 on LGX. Double-mutant strains carrying one of these suppressors and tra-1(e1781) or tra-2(e1095) produce small sick males with variably abnormal male tail structures as viewed under Nomarski optics. We are studying the possible involvement in sex determination, dosage compensation, or both, of the gene or genes defined by these mutations. Screens of EMS-treated n695 worms are underway to isolate more alleles of these suppressors. So far none have been found after looking at 10,000 F1 worms.