Xenopus Xsal-1, a vertebrate homolog of the region specific homeotic gene spalt of Drosophila.
We have isolated an amphibian homolog of the homeotic gene spalt of Drosophila. Like its Drosophila counterpart the Xenopus Xsal-1 gene encodes a protein that contains three widely separated sets of sequence related double zinc finger motifs of the CC/HH-type as well as a single CC/HH zinc finger. The Xenopus gene encodes a fourth double zinc finger and a single CC/HC zinc finger motif that have no counterpart in the fly protein. Alternative splicing of Xsal-1 transcripts gives rise to RNAs coding for either four, three or two double zinc fingers, respectively. The main expression domains of Xsal-1 in early development are confined to distinct regions along the lateral axon tracts within the midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal cord. Outside the central nervous system Xsal-1 is expressed in the facio-acoustic ganglion and in the developing limb buds. The pattern of expression suggests that Xsal-1 might be under control of signals emanating from the notochord and/or the floor plate and that it might function in neuronal cell specification.
Hollemann
T
T
Abteilung für Entwicklungsbiochemie, Universität Göttingen, Germany.
Schuh
R
R
Pieler
T
T
Stick
R
R
D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005091:Exons; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C103405:sal1-A protein, Xenopus; C085793:salm protein, Drosophila; C484468:spalt protein, vertebrate