Developmentally regulated Drosophila gene family encoding the fork head domain.
We have isolated seven Drosophila genes by means of low-stringency hybridization to a DNA probe containing the coding sequence for the protein domain shared by the rodent hepatocyte-enriched nuclear transcription factor HNF3A (alpha) and the product of the Drosophila region-specific homeotic gene fork head (fkh). The previously unreported genes encode a 110-amino acid conserved sequence, which we call the fork head (fkh) domain. Two of these fkh-domain-encoding genes ("FD genes") map to the sloppy paired locus (slp), which exerts segmentation gene function. The expression patterns of the other FD genes suggest that their protein products are likely to be involved in gut formation, mesoderm specification, and some specific aspects of neural development. The FD gene products presumably represent a family of transcription factors that, like the previously identified DNA-binding proteins, contribute to early developmental decisions in cell fates during embryogenesis.
Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Abteilung Molekulare Entwicklungsbiologie, Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
U
U
Häcker
U
U
Grossniklaus
W J
WJ
Gehring
H
H
Jäckle
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D015870:Gene Expression; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D051541:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D051541:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors