New Class of Genes in D. melanogaster (Conditional Mutations, Ontogenes, and Biological Role of Ontogenes)
B. F. Chadov, N. B. Fedorova
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.
