Molecular characterization of the zerknüllt region of the Antennapedia gene complex in Drosophila.
Molecular characterization of the zerknüllt region of the Antennapedia gene complex in Drosophila.
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DOI：
10.1101/gad.1.10.1268
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发表时间：
1987-12
影响因子：
10.5
通讯作者：
C. Rushlow;H. Doyle;Timothy Hoey;M. Levine
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Rushlow;H. Doyle;Timothy Hoey;M. Levine
zerknüllt（zen）是果蝇中18个已知同源盒基因中唯一的一个，因为它是背腹模式分化所必需的，并且似乎不参与分割过程。在这里，我们表明，zen区域的的Antnapedia复合体（ANT-C）由两个紧密相连的同源盒基因，指定z1和z2。Z1和Z2转录单位在早期发育过程中表现出基本相同的表达模式，这与zen+基因活性的时间和位点一致。由z1和z2编码的推定蛋白质是高度不同的，并且仅通过同源盒同源性而相关。我们已经使用P-元件介导的生殖系转化表明，z1单独可以提供zen+基因的功能，这表明z2基因可能是不稳定的。显示相似表达模式的紧密连锁同源盒基因的出现并不是zen位点所独有的。这种基因复制可能为果蝇和其他生物中同源盒基因家族的进化提供重要线索。
zerknüllt (zen) is unique among the 18 known homeo box genes in Drosophila since it is required for the differentiation of the dorsal-ventral pattern, and does not appear to be involved in the process of segmentation. Here we show that the zen region of the Antennapedia complex (ANT-C) consists of two closely linked homeo box genes, designated z1 and z2. The z1 and z2 transcription units show essentially identical patterns of expression during early development, which are consistent with the timing and sites of zen+ gene activity. The putative proteins encoded by z1 and z2 are highly divergent and are related only by virtue of homeo box homology. We have used P-element-mediated germ line transformation to show that z1 alone can provide zen+ gene function, suggesting that the z2 gene might be dispensable. The occurrence of closely linked homeo box genes that display similar patterns of expression is not unique to the zen locus. Such gene duplications might provide important clues to the evolution of the homeo box gene family in Drosophila and other organisms.