6-azauracil induced phenocopies of rudimentary wing mutants and their suppression by a suppressor mutant of rudimentary in Drosophila melanogaster

Wing abnormalities induced in wild-type Drosophila by the pyrimidine analogue 6-azauracil were found to be identical to those of rudimentary wing mutants. From these findings and the subsequent observation that a suppressor of rudimentary suppresses the teratogenic and lethal effects of the analogue, it is concluded that the induced wing defects are true phenocopies of rudimentary wings. These observations provide additional evidence for a deficient pyrimidine biosynthesis in rudimentary mutants and encourage the use of antimetabolites in the biochemical investigation of morphological mutants of Drosophila.