From owner-celegans@net.bio.net Mon Oct 21 23:00:00 1996 Path: biosci!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!howland.erols.net!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!newsflash.concordia.ca!news.nstn.ca!coranto.ucs.mun.ca!upei.ca!WS.cs.upei.ca!ralling From: ralling@UPEI.CA (Geoff Ralling) Newsgroups: bionet.celegans Subject: Bilateral colour asymmetry Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 11:26:29 GMT Organization: University of Prince Edward Island, CANADA Lines: 27 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: pc012.dalton.upei.ca Keywords: mutation, lobster X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev B] Cross posted in bionet.drosophila I believe this group might also be interested in this posting since it may involve developmental genes responsible for body symmetry. I work at the University of Prince Edward Island which houses the Atlantic Veterinary College. In one of the student demonstration tanks is an Atlantic Lobster which shows complete bilateral colour asymmetry. I have two questions: What sort of mutation would cause this? I can only think of a somatic mutation in a colour gene occuring early in the development of the embryo. Can someone support this or suggest an alternative? Has anyone ever heard of or seen such a thing in any animal? This creature is wild-type colour on the RHS and bright red on the LHS with a razor sharp line down its midline dividing left and right. Bright red colour mutants are occasionally caught around here but this left-right asymmetry is - in my view- spectacular. It hasn't seemed to impress anyone else though. Thanks for any insights. Hope this is an appropriate group. Geoff Ralling University of Prince Edward Island ralling@upei.ca .