title: Detection in situ of genomic regulatory elements in Drosophila.
abstract: We have developed an approach for the in situ detection of genomic elements that regulate transcription zin Drosophila melanogaster. The approach is analogous to a powerful method of bacterial genetics, the random generation of operon fusions, that enables the isolation and characterization of genes simply by knowing or postulating their pattern of expression; it is not necessary initially to screen for mutant phenotypes. To apply this approach to Drosophila, we have used the expression of the lacZ gene of Escherichia coli from the P-element promoter in germ-line transformant flies to screen for chromosomal elements that can act at a distance to stimulate expression from this apparently weak promoter. Of 49 transformed fly lines obtained, approximately 70% show some type of spatially regulated expression of the lacZ gene in embryos; many of these express lacZ specifically in the nervous system. The P-lacZ fusion gene is, therefore, an efficient tool for the recovery of elements that may regulate gene expression in Drosophila and for the generation of a wide variety of cell-type-specific markers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, University of Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: O'Kane
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Gehring
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D001616:beta-Galactosidase
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D001616:beta-Galactosidase