Lateral gene expression in Drosophila early embryos is supported by Grainyhead-mediated activation and tiers of dorsally-localized repression.

ABSTRACT: The general consensus in the field is that limiting amounts of the transcription factor Dorsal establish dorsal boundaries of genes expressed along the dorsal-ventral (DV) axis of early Drosophila embryos, while repressors establish ventral boundaries. Yet recent studies have provided evidence that repressors act to specify the dorsal boundary of intermediate neuroblasts defective (ind), a gene expressed in a stripe along the DV axis in lateral regions of the embryo. Here we show that a short 12 base pair sequence ("the A-box") present twice within the ind CRM is both necessary and sufficient to support transcriptional repression in dorsal regions of embryos. To identify binding factors, we conducted affinity chromatography using the A-box element and found a number of DNA-binding proteins

SUBMITTER: Garcia M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3245246 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature