Abstract The el-noc complex spans a distance of about 200 kb on chromosome 2L. It consists of three discrete genetic regions el, l(2)35Ba and noc, each of which has a distinct phenotype when mutant. The noc locus itself is complex, including three separate regions. The el locus has been characterized by mapping 30 aberration breakpoints to the DNA. It extends over a distance of about 80 kb. It can be divided into two parts by the aberrations In(2LR)DTD128 and T(Y;2)A80. These break between two sets of el alleles yet are both phenotypically wild type for elbow. The simplest explanation is that el consists of two transcription units elA and elB. The locus pu, which appears to be unrelated to the el-noc complex, is found to map between the two el loci very close to elB (the distal el locus). The loci l(2)35Ba and nocA have been separated by only two l(2)35Ba+nocA- deletions and a nocA- inversion. No l(2)35Ba-nocA+ aberrations have been found. At the molecular level these loci are found to occupy almost the same region, and are probably identical.