Expression of the Drosophila homeobox gene, Distal-less, supports an ancestral role in neural development.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Distal-less (Dll) encodes a homeodomain transcription factor expressed in developing appendages of organisms throughout metazoan phylogeny. Based on earlier observations in the limbless nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the primitive chordate amphioxus, it was proposed that Dll had an ancestral function in nervous system development. Consistent with this hypothesis, Dll is necessary for the development of both peripheral and central components of the Drosophila olfactory system. Furthermore, vertebrate homologs of Dll, the Dlx genes, play critical roles in mammalian brain development.

Results

Using fluorescent immunohistochemistry of fixed samples and multiphoton microscopy of living Drosophila embryos, we show that Dll is expressed in the embryonic, larval and

SUBMITTER: Plavicki JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4715519 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature