Puffing patterns in the salivary gland chromosomes of the melonfly,Dacus cucurbitae

The puffing pattern changes in the salivary gland chromosomes of the third instar larvae of the melonfly, Dacus cucurbitae are described. Three classes of puffs were noticed over a period of development of 120 hrs. Class (1) are those which are more or less constantly found; class (2) are those which oscillate, i.e. appear and disappear at irregular time intervals; and class (3) are those that are linked to a specific developmental event. Also, 3 peaks of puffing activity have been noticed during the present study; one in the 120 hr old larva, the second in the 168 hr old larva and the third in the 240 hr old larvae. The significance of these 3 classes of puffs and the 3 peaks in puffing activity has been discussed. The puff RNA has a high rate of synthesis and incorporates ³H-cytidine within 30 secs after being offered. There is a high degree of variation in the incorporation of labelled precursors into the different nuclei of the same gland, such a variation is not noticed in the diploid and embryonic cells.