title: Single-base pair differences in a shared motif determine differential Rhodopsin expression.
abstract: The final identity and functional properties of a neuron are specified by terminal differentiation genes, which are controlled by specific motifs in compact regulatory regions. To determine how these sequences integrate inputs from transcription factors that specify cell types, we compared the regulatory mechanism of Drosophila Rhodopsin genes that are expressed in subsets of photoreceptors to that of phototransduction genes that are expressed broadly, in all photoreceptors. Both sets of genes share an 11-base pair (bp) activator motif. Broadly expressed genes contain a palindromic version that mediates expression in all photoreceptors. In contrast, each Rhodopsin exhibits characteristic single-bp substitutions that break the symmetry of the palindrome and generate activator or repressor motifs critical for restricting expression to photoreceptor subsets. Sensory neuron subtypes can therefore evolve through single-bp changes in short regulatory motifs, allowing the discrimination of a wide spectrum of stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rister
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Ansa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Razzaq
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boodram
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Nisha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Cleopatra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsanis
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jukam
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003-6688, USA. cd38@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desplan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020029:Base Pairing; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D009154:Mutation; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D012243:Rhodopsin