Introduction of three in-frame premature stop codons, which should result in all Ubx isoforms being truncated immediately after the UbdA peptide motif.
abdominal segment 1 & haltere | ectopic (with Df(3R)Ubx109)
abdominal segment 1 & metathoracic leg | ectopic (with Df(3R)Ubx109)
mesothoracic laterotergite & macrochaeta | ectopic
mesothoracic laterotergite & macrochaeta | ectopic (with Ubx6.28)
trichome & mesothoracic leg
trichome & mesothoracic leg (with Ubx6.28)
trichome & metathoracic leg
trichome & metathoracic leg (with Ubx6.28)
UbxΔQA homozygotes are viable and exhibit an incompletely penetrant haltere phenotype of variable expressivity. UbxΔQA halteres generally have zero or one ectopic bristle emanating from the anterior, proximal region of the capitellum or, more rarely, from the anterior of the pedicel. Halteres often vary within the same animal, and are slightly increased in size, with some visually indistinguishable from the wild-type. UbxΔQA homozygotes have a normal complement of limbs. UbxΔQA homozygous larvae exhibit mild A1 denticle belt transformations towards an intermediate T3/A1 identity, although ectopic A1 Keilin's Organs are not detected. Similarly, UbxΔQA homozygous larvae never produce ectopic limb primordia. Heterozygous UbxΔQA flies have no detectable phenotype in the haltere. UbxΔQA and UbxΔQA/Ubx6.28 mutant T3 laterotergites transform towards a T2 thorax identity, as expressed by the number of ectopic bristles present. UbxΔQA mutants adults have moderate transformations of the T3 laterotergite towards T2 identity, with up to three ectopic bristles per half-laterotergite. UbxΔQA/Ubx6.28 mutants exhibit extensive postnotal tissue, with up to a dozen ectopic bristles per half-laterotergite. UbxΔQA/Ubx6.28 adults exhibit severely reduced A1 tergites, which in extreme cases are nearly absent. In many UbxΔQA/Ubx6.28 adults, the combination of an extremely reduced A1 tergite and a partial transformation of the T3 laterotergite toward an intermediate T2/T3 postnotal identity create an indistinct boundary between the dorsal thorax and abdomen. In UbxΔQA and UbxΔQA/Ubx6.28 mutants, the area of naked cuticle which in wild-type is without non-sensory microtrichiae (trichomes) in the posterior of the T2 legs (T2p) is reduced, and in some cases, nearly eliminated. In UbxΔQA and UbxΔQA/Ubx6.28 mutants, the area of naked cuticle which in wild-type is without non-sensory microtrichiae (trichomes) in the posterior of the T3 legs (T3p), exhibits expansive regions of trichomes formed distally and ventrally. UbxΔQA/Df(3R)Ubx109 larvae form ectopic A1 Keilin's Organs with up to three bristles. UbxΔQA/Df(3R)Ubx109 embryos generate small but robust ectopic limb primordia of up to half the size of thoracic limb primordia.