A homologue of the vertebrate SET domain and zinc finger protein Blimp-1 regulates terminal differentiation of the tracheal system in the Drosophila embryo.
The B-lymphocyte-inducing maturation protein (Blimp-1) gene encodes a zinc finger and SET/PR domain-containing transcriptional factor. A number of functional studies in a variety of vertebrate species have demonstrated that Blimp-1 is a master regulator of cell fate determination and cell differentiation in a wide diversity of developmental contexts. Despite all of this significance, the role, if any, of a homologue of Blimp-1 in directing morphogenetic events during embryonic development of invertebrates has so far remained completely unexplored. In this report, we describe the identification of a Drosophila homologue of Blimp-1 and show that the gene is expressed in diverse cell types during the course of embryogenesis. Further, using genetic analysis, we demonstrate that its wild-type activity is critically required for the maturation of the tracheal system into properly differentiated tubes.
Ng
Teclise
T
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Proteos, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore, 138673, Singapore. phsngt@nus.edu.sg
Yu
Fengwei
F
Roy
Sudipto
S
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D056488:Histone Chaperones; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D034622:RNA Interference; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014132:Trachea / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D056488:Histone Chaperones; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C513473:SET protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors