Insect immunity: developmental and inducible activity of the Drosophila diptericin promoter.
Diptericins are 9 kDa inducible antibacterial peptides initially isolated from immune haemolymph of Phormia (Diptera). Following the isolation of a Drosophila cDNA encoding a diptericin homologue, we have now cloned a genomic fragment containing the Drosophila diptericin gene. To dissect the regulation of this gene, we have transformed flies with a fusion gene in which the reporter beta-galactosidase gene is under the control of 2.2 kb upstream sequences of the diptericin gene. We show that such a fusion gene is inducible by injection of live bacteria or complete Freund's adjuvant and respects the tissue specific expression pattern of the resident diptericin gene. Our analysis reveals at least four distinct phases in the regulation of this gene: young larvae, late third instar larvae, pupae and adults. This complexity may be related to the presence in the upstream sequences of multiple copies of response elements previously characterized in genes encoding acute phase response proteins in mammals (e.g. NK-kappa B, NF-kappa B related, NF-IL6 response elements).
Laboratoire de Biologie Générale, Université Louis Pasteur, Unité Associée au CNRS no. 672 Endocrinologie et Immunologie des Insectes, Strasbourg, France.
J M
JM
Reichhart
M
M
Meister
J L
JL
Dimarcq
D
D
Zachary
D
D
Hoffmann
C
C
Ruiz
G
G
Richards
J A
JA
Hoffmann
D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000235:genetics*; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008322:Mammals; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; C054756:DptA protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007301:Insect Hormones; D019476:Insect Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D001616:beta-Galactosidase