Cloning of the Drosophila prospero gene and its expression in ganglion mother cells.
The Drosophila central nervous system comprises an enormous diversity of neurons that are originated from neuronal stem cells, neuroblasts. They generate a specific series of ganglion mother cells, each of which is once cleaved into a pair of neurons. Among genes known to control neurogenesis, prospero (pros) was recently identified as a gene required for gene expression specifying properties of some identified neurons. Here we report that pros encodes a nuclear protein containing a homeodomain-like sequence. In neuronal lineages of the central nervous system, pros protein is specifically detected in ganglion mother cells, although their parental neuroblasts have begun expressing a significant level of pros transcripts, suggesting a post-transcriptional control of pros expression. Our results provoke that in neuronal cell differentiation ganglion mother cells might play a pivotal role associating with the pros function.
Matsuzaki
F
F
Division of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Neuroscience, NCNP, Tokyo, Japan.
Koizumi
K
K
Hama
C
C
Yoshioka
T
T
Nabeshima
Y
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D005724:Ganglia / Q000502:physiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D005796:Genes; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000276:immunology; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D014157:Transcription Factors; C073099:pros protein, Drosophila