title: Transcriptional regulation of cytoskeletal functions and segmentation by a novel maternal pair-rule gene, lilliputian.
abstract: Transcriptional control during early Drosophila development is governed by maternal and zygotic factors. We have identified a novel maternal transcriptional regulator gene, lilliputian (lilli), which contains an HMG1 (AT-hook) motif and a domain with similarity to the human fragile X mental retardation FMR2 protein and the AF4 proto-oncoprotein. Embryos lacking maternal lilli expression show specific defects in the establishment of a functional cytoskeleton during cellularization, and exhibit a pair-rule segmentation phenotype. These mutant phenotypes correlate with markedly reduced expression of the early zygotic genes serendipity alpha, fushi tarazu and huckebein, which are essential for cellularization and embryonic patterning. In addition, loss of lilli in adult photoreceptor and bristle cells results in a significant decrease in cell size. Our results indicate that lilli represents a novel pair-rule gene that acts in cytoskeleton regulation, segmentation and morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3200, USA. amy_tang@uclink4.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Neufeld
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D048429:Cell Size; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D051717:Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017344:Genes, Insect; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000235:genetics; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051717:Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; C087725:Hkb protein, Drosophila; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C115206:Sry-alpha protein, Drosophila; D014157:Transcription Factors; C497169:ftz protein, Drosophila; C423386:lilli protein, Drosophila