New Class of Genes in D. melanogaster (Conditional Mutations, Ontogenes, and Biological Role of Ontogenes)

Abstract

The review briefs the history of the search for non-Mendelian genes, including the rationale for their existence and the methods for their discovery in D. melanogaster. The genes are named ontogenes and their mutations, conditional mutations. Characteristic features of conditional mutations in hybridological experiments have been described. Three separate sections dwell on the experimental facts that distinctly outline the difference of this novel group of genes from the classical protein-coding (Mendelian) genes. According to these facts, the specificity in the function of ontogenes consists in (1) the warrant that an organism belongs to a particular species; (2) the control of cellular construction; and, most likely, (3) the presence of nonchemical (biophysical) way of interaction between ontogenes.