# Recounting the history of polyploid research in D. melanogaster: 1 century since 2 reports of 3 flies with 4 sets of chromosomes

## TL;DR

This paper revisits early research on tetraploid fruit flies from a century ago to inspire new studies on polyploidy in Drosophila.

## Contribution

The paper revives forgotten early findings on tetraploid D. melanogaster to suggest new research directions in polyploid biology.

## Key findings

- Tetraploid D. melanogaster females were first reported a century ago by Bridges and Morgan.
- Early polyploid research in Drosophila has been largely overlooked in modern genetics.
- There is renewed interest in polyploid research that could benefit from revisiting historical findings.

## Abstract

One hundred years ago, two reports appeared of tetraploid D. melanogaster females – curiosities that had never been seen before. The authors, Calvin Bridges and Lilian Morgan, were among the famed founders of fly genetics in T.H. Morgan’s lab at Columbia University. Sadly, their findings have faded into the fog of ancient fly lore. This review exhumes those relics in order to offer modern fly-pushers some possible avenues for polyploid research. That subfield is undergoing a revival that may interest them.