THE DOUBLESEX PROTEINS OF DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER BIND DIRECTLY TO A SEX-SPECIFIC YOLK PROTEIN GENE ENHANCER
THE DOUBLESEX PROTEINS OF DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER BIND DIRECTLY TO A SEX-SPECIFIC YOLK PROTEIN GENE ENHANCER
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DOI：
10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07798.x
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发表时间：
1991-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
11.4
通讯作者：
WENSINK, PC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
BURTIS, KC;COSCHIGANO, KT;WENSINK, PC
黑腹果蝇的双性 (dsx) 基因编码雄性特异性和雌性特异性多肽，其合成受到初级 dsx 转录物的选择性性别特异性剪接的调节。 dsx mRNA 的选择性剪接是涉及转录和转录后机制的调控基因相互作用级联中的最后一个已知步骤。遗传学研究表明，dsx 基因座的产物是两性正确体细胞性别分化所必需的，并且表明每种 dsx 产物通过抑制异性特异的终末分化基因的表达来发挥作用。然而，这些研究尚未表明dsx基因产物是否直接调节靶基因的表达，或通过另一个调节基因间接发挥作用。我们在此报道，在大肠杆菌中表达的雄性和雌性特异性 DSX 蛋白在体外直接且特异性地与位于增强子区域的三个 DNA 序列结合，增强子区域调节两个靶基因（卵黄蛋白基因 1 和 2）的雌性特异性表达。这一结果强烈表明，dsx 是控制体细胞性别分化的调节基因层次中的最终调节基因。
The doublesex (dsx) gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes both male-specific and female-specific polypeptides, whose synthesis is regulated by alternative sex-specific splicing of the primary dsx transcript. The alternative splicing of the dsx mRNA is the last known step in a cascade of regulatory gene interactions that involves both transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Genetic studies have shown that the products of the dsx locus are required for correct somatic sexual differentiation of both sexes, and have suggested that each dsx product functions by repressing expression of terminal differentiation genes specific to the opposite sex. However, these studies have not shown whether the dsx gene products function directly to regulate the expression of target genes, or indirectly through another regulatory gene. We report here that the male- and female-specific DSX proteins, expressed in E. coli, bind directly and specifically in vitro to three DNA sequences located in an enhancer region that regulates female-specific expression of two target genes, the yolk protein genes 1 and 2. This result suggests strongly that dsx is a final regulatory gene in the hierarchy of regulatory genes controlling somatic sexual differentiation.