title: The Drosophila gene tailless is expressed at the embryonic termini and is a member of the steroid receptor superfamily.
abstract: The zygotically active tailless (tll) gene plays a key role in the establishment of nonmetameric domains at the anterior and posterior poles of the Drosophila embryo. We have cloned the tll gene and show that it encodes a protein with striking similarity to steroid hormone receptors in both the DNA binding "finger" and ligand binding domains. tll RNA is initially expressed in embryos in two mirror-image symmetrical domains; this pattern then quickly resolves into a pattern consistent with the mutant phenotype: a posterior cap and an anterior dorsal stripe. That the tll gene may also play a role in the nervous system is suggested by its strong expression in the forming brain and transient expression in the peripheral nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-1606.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pignoni
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Baldarelli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Steingrímsson
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patapoutian
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Merriam
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lengyel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009154:Mutation; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D011987:Receptors, Steroid