Transcription of repetitive DNA sequences in the lampbrush loop pair Nooses formed by sterile alleles of fertility gene Q on the Y chromosome of Drosophila hydei.

The Y chromosomal lampbrush loop-forming male fertility genes of Drosophila consist mainly of repetitive DNA sequences that do not code for proteins. We investigated whether differences in the transcription of these sequences can be detected in male-sterile alleles of male fertility gene Q, which forms the loop pair Nooses. The loop consists, for approximately two-thirds, of repeats of the Y-specific ay1 family of repetitive DNA sequences. Of the remaining one-third, at least one-half is represented by defective retrotransposons of the gypsy family. Both sequence types are interspersed throughout the loop. Using both ay1 and gypsy sequences as probes for transcript in situ hybridization, we show that, at the level of the light microscope, transcription of neither sequence is detectably affected in the loops formed by a male-sterile allele of gene Q. We conclude that the transcription of ay1 and gypsy is required, but not sufficient for the function of gene Q.