title: Functional domain analysis of glass, a zinc-finger-containing transcription factor in Drosophila.
abstract: The glass gene is required for proper photo-receptor differentiation during development of the Drosophila eye glass codes for a DNA-binding protein containing five zinc fingers that we show is a transcriptional activator. A comparison of the sequences of the glass genes from two species of Drosophila and a detailed functional domain analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster glass gene reveal that both the DNA-binding domain and the transcriptional-activation domain are highly conserved between the two species. Analysis of the DNA-binding domain of glass indicates that the three carboxyl-terminal zinc fingers alone are necessary and sufficient for DNA binding. We also show that a deletion mutant of glass containing only the DNA-binding domain can behave in a dominant-negative manner both in vivo and in a cell culture assay that measures transcriptional activation.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tjian
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002460:Cell Line; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005123:Eye / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015870:Gene Expression; D017344:Genes, Insect; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; C087289:gl protein, Drosophila; D004247:DNA; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase