Fig. 5. Molecular analysis of bab mutations. (A) PolyA⁺ RNA (10 µg) from 3rd instar larvae that were wild type (+/+), bab^P/+ or bab^P/bab^P were each hybridized with bab1- and bab2-specific riboprobes. Both, bab1 and bab2 encode a 5.4 kb transcript. Detection of the bab1 wild-type signal required 4 days of film exposure, whereas the much stronger bab2 signal was detected after only 12 hours. The bab^P insertion causes a truncation of the bab1 mRNA, yielding a 2.6 kb transcript, but does not affect the bab2 transcript. (B) Bab2 has a molecular weight of approximately 145 kDa. bab^E1 causes a strong reduction of Bab2, and bab^E4 and bab^E5 cause a truncation of Bab2. (C,D) Bab2 is not detected in Df(3)Fpa1/Df(3)Fpa2 or bab^AR07/bab^AR07 mutants, and reduced levels of Bab2 are found in bab^PR72 homozygotes. bab^A128 (C) and bab^E3 mutants (B) produce a Bab2 protein of normal size. Bab2 protein was detected using Bab2-R6 (B,C) or Bab2-R7 antibodies (D), which recognize the N-terminal region of Bab2.

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