In mammals, identical twins arise when an embryo derived from a single fertilized egg splits into two independent embryos, producing two genetically identical individuals.
The converse phenotype, fusion of two genetically distinct embryos into a single individual, is also known. What are the genetic implications of such an event?

Experiments have shown that any nuclei placed in the polar cytoplasm at the posterior pole of the Drosophila egg will differentiate into germ cells. If polar cytoplasm is transplanted into the anterior end of the egg just after fertilization, what will happen to nuclei that migrate into this cytoplasm at the anterior pole?

Ablation of the anchor cell in wild-type C. elegans results in a vulva-less phenotype.

What about if the anchor cell is ablated in a let-23 gain-of-function mutant?

Ablation of the anchor cell in wild-type C. elegans results in a vulva-less phenotype.

What phenotype is to be expected if the anchor cell is ablated in a let-23 loss-of-function mutant?

In gain-of-function let-23 and let-60 C. elegans mutants, all of the vulval precursor cells differentiate with 1° or 2° fates. Do you expect adjacent cells to differentiate with 1° fates or with 2° fates? Explain.

In mammals, identical twins arise when an embryo derived from a single fertilized egg splits into two independent embryos, producing two genetically identical individuals.

What limits might there be, from a developmental genetic viewpoint, as to when this can occur?

Early development depends on the temporal and spatial interplay between maternally supplied material and mRNA and the onset of zygotic gene expression. Maternally encoded mRNAs must be produced, positioned, and degraded [Surdej and Jacobs-Lorena (1998). Mol. Cell Biol. 18:2892–2900]. For example, transcription of the bicoid gene that determines anterior–posterior polarity in Drosophila is maternal. The mRNA is synthesized in the ovary by nurse cells and then transported to the oocyte, where it localizes to the anterior ends of oocytes. After egg deposition, bicoid mRNA is translated and unstable bicoid protein forms a decreasing concentration gradient from the anterior end of the embryo. At the start of gastrulation, bicoid mRNA has been degraded. Consider two models to explain the degradation of bicoid mRNA: (1) degradation may result from signals within the mRNA (intrinsic model), or (2) degradation may result from the mRNA's position within the egg (extrinsic model). Experimentally, how could one distinguish between these two models?

Formation of germ cells in Drosophila and many other embryos is dependent on their position in the embryo and their exposure to localized cytoplasmic determinants. Nuclei exposed to cytoplasm in the posterior end of Drosophila eggs (the pole plasm) form cells that develop into germ cells under the direction of maternally derived components. R. Amikura et al. [(2001). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 98:9133–9138] consistently found mitochondria-type ribosomes outside mitochondria in the germ plasma of Drosophila embryos and postulated that they are intimately related to germ-cell specification. If you were studying this phenomenon, what would you want to know about the activity of these ribosomes?

The maternal-effect mutation bicoid (bcd) is recessive. In the absence of the bicoid protein product, embryogenesis is not completed. Consider a cross between a female heterozygous for the bicoid alleles (bcd⁺/bcd⁻) and a male homozygous for the mutation (bcd⁻/bcd⁻).

Predict the outcome (normal vs. failed embryogenesis) in the F₁ and F₂ generations of the cross described.