brinker is a target of Dpp in Drosophila that negatively regulates Dpp-dependent genes.
Growth and patterning of the Drosophila wing is controlled in part by the long-range organizing activities of the Decapentaplegic protein (Dpp). Dpp is synthesized by cells that line the anterior side of the anterior/posterior compartment border of the wing imaginal disc. From this source, Dpp is thought to generate a concentration gradient that patterns both anterior and posterior compartments. Among the gene targets that it regulates are optomotor blind (omb), spalt (sal), and daughters against dpp (dad). We report here the molecular cloning of brinker (brk), and show that brk expression is repressed by dpp. brk encodes, a protein that negatively regulates Dpp-dependent genes. Expression of brk in Xenopus embryos indicates that brk can also repress the targets of a vertebrate homologue of Dpp, bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4). The evolutionary conservation of Brk function underscores the importance of its negative role in proportioning Dpp activity.
Minami
M
M
Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Kinoshita
N
N
Kamoshida
Y
Y
Tanimoto
H
H
Tabata
T
T
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017344:Genes, Insect; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000196:embryology; D014981:Xenopus; D029867:Xenopus Proteins
D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C525812:bmp4 protein, Xenopus; C118082:brk protein, Drosophila; C064196:dpp protein, Drosophila