Genetics of mosquito cells: Clonal analysis and use of cloning vectors in insect cells

The contribution of insect systems to developmental biology and genetics is best exemplified by the vast amount of information that has been accumulated using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Biological features of this organism that have facilitated laboratory investigation include its short life cycle, simple dietary requirements, polytene salivary gland chromosomes that are readily amenable to cytological procedures, and a small genome size. These properties have contributed to the isolation and characterization of a vast repertoire of mutant flies, initially using classical genetic approaches. More recently, the development of techniques for transforming Drosophila cells in culture, and for transforming Drosophila embryos using vectors based on the transposable P element, has provided powerful new approaches to carrying out fundamental molecular investigations using this insect. Clearly, the application of the techniques and approaches that have been successful with Drosophila to insect species of medical or agricultural importance constitutes an important challenge to insect physiologists and biochemists.