Patterns of protein synthesis in imaginal discs of Drosophila melanogaster.

Patterns of polypeptide synthesis in wing, leg and eye-antenna imaginal discs and in whole larvae of wild-type and and mutant Drosophila melanogaster have been examined using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. After 2 hr of labeling with 35S during the third larval instar, the synthesis of more than 318 polypeptides has been detected in imaginal discs. Of these, 268 are present in similar amounts in all three disc types. The remaining polypeptides detected in the three imaginal disc types fall into two categories: those unique to a particular disc type, and those specific for a particular pair of disc types. These results are discussed in relation to the spectrum of gene expression in imaginal discs.