title: repo encodes a glial-specific homeo domain protein required in the Drosophila nervous system.
abstract: We report the identification of a Drosophila locus, reversed polarity (repo). Weak repo alleles were viable but affected glia in the optic lobe, resulting in a reversal in polarity of the electrophysiological to light in the adult. Strong repo alleles caused defects in embryonic glia and resulted in embryonic lethality. Expression of repo appeared to be specific to glia throughout development. In the adult visual system, repo was expressed in laminal glia, medullar glia, and subretinal cells; in the embryo, repo was expressed in nearly all of the identified glia in the central and peripheral nervous systems except midline glia. The repo gene encoded a homeo domain protein suggesting that it might be a transcriptional regulator of genes required for glial development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Blendy
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montell
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015415:Biomarkers; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004596:Electroretinography; D005123:Eye / Q000196:embryology / Q000528:radiation effects; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000235:genetics*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008027:Light; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000502:physiology*; D009799:Ocular Physiological Phenomena; D009899:Optic Lobe, Nonmammalian / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C089972:repo protein, Drosophila