title: Transcriptional activation by the Antennapedia and fushi tarazu proteins in cultured Drosophila cells.
abstract: Drosophila homeodomain proteins bind to specific DNA sequences in vitro and are hypothesized to regulate the transcription of other genes during development. Using a cotransfection assay, we have shown that homeodomain proteins encoded by the homeotic gene Antennapedia (Antp) and the segmentation gene fushi tarazu, as well as a hybrid homeodomain protein, are activators of transcription from specific promoters in cultured Drosophila cells. Sequences downstream of the Antp P1 and Ultrabithorax transcription start sites mediate the observed activation. A TAA-rich DNA sequence to which the Antp protein binds in vitro is sufficient to confer regulation on a heterologous promoter. The results demonstrate that homeodomain proteins are transcriptional regulators in vivo and that in cultured cells, different homeodomain-containing proteins can act upon a common sequence to modulate gene transcription.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309-0347.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Winslow
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krasnow
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hogness
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors