1. The Vestigial and Scalloped proteins act together to directly regulate wing-specific gene expression in Drosophila
- Author
-
Halder, Georg, Polaczyk, Patricia, Kraus, Mary Ellen, Hudson, Angela, Kim, Jaeseob, Laughon, Allen, and Carroll, Sean
- Subjects
Drosophila -- Genetic aspects ,Transduction -- Genetic aspects ,Cellular control mechanisms -- Observations ,Cell differentiation -- Genetic aspects ,Cellular signal transduction -- Genetic aspects ,Biological sciences - Abstract
In Drosophila the gene 'vestigial' is necessary for wing formation. It can induce wing-like growths on other structures. Vestigial, the nuclear protein, must have the function of the Scalloped protein to activate directly expression of genes that are related to wing morphogenesis. Scalloped is a member of the TEA family of transcription regulators. Analyses, both genetic and molecular, show Vestigial regulates wing identity by making a complex with Scalloped. The complex binds sequence to essential sites specifically in wing-specific enhancers. Likely combinatorial regulation by selector proteins and signal transducers is a general feature of the tissue-specific control of gene expression in organogenesis.
- Published
- 1998