Methodology for the study of the effect of drugs on development and DNA replication in Drosophila melanogaster embryonic tissue.

Methodology is described that will permit the study of the effect of various drugs on development and DNA replication in the cleavage nuclei of Drosophila eggs. It is shown that permeabilized eggs can be exposed to an aqueous incubation medium for up to 30 min without measureable effects on development and that such incubations can be performed with eggs that have a relatively sharp age distribution. The effect on development and viability of a variety of drugs has been examined as an aid for future studies directed toward achieving synchronous development in a population of eggs and electron microscopic studies of DNA replication in the presence of various drugs.