Chip and apterous physically interact to form a functional complex during Drosophila development.
LIM homeodomain (LIM-HD) proteins play key roles in a variety of developmental processes throughout the animal kingdom. Here we show that the LIM-binding protein Chip acts as a cofactor for the Drosophila LIM-HD family member Apterous (Ap) in wing development. We define the domains of Chip required for LIM-HD binding and for homodimerization and show that mutant proteins deleted for these domains act in a dominant-negative fashion to disrupt Ap function. Our results support a model for multimeric complexes containing Chip and Ap in transcriptional regulation. This model is confirmed by the activity of a chimeric fusion between Chip and Ap that reconstitutes the complex and rescues the ap mutant phenotype.
van Meyel
D J
DJ
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
O'Keefe
D D
DD
Jurata
L W
LW
Thor
S
S
Gill
G N
GN
Thomas
J B
JB
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D019281:Dimerization; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000254:growth & development
C108740:Chi protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C074459:ap protein, Drosophila