Functional identification of the Segregation Distorter locus of Drosophila melanogaster by germline transformation

Segregation Distorter (SD) is a meiotic drive system in D. melanogaster that results in the failure of SD/SD+ males to transmit SD+ homologs owing to the induced dysfunction of spermatids carrying the normal chromosome. Segregation distorter (Sd), the gene primarily responsible for this distorted transmission, is associated with a novel 12-kb restriction fragment containing a tandem duplication of a 5-kb wild-type segment of genomic DNA. When introduced into appropriate genetic backgrounds by germline transformation, this 12-kb fragment causes full levels of distortion and directs the expression of an Sd-specific 4-kb transcript. Transformants that have lost part of this segment are unable to cause distortion and do not express the 4-kb transcript. These results identify the tandem duplication as Sd.