Spatial regulation of proneural gene activity: auto- and cross-activation of achaete is antagonized by extramacrochaetae.
Year: 1992
Type: preprint
Abstract: The spatially restricted activities of achaete (ac) and scute (sc) are thought to define proneural clusters of potential sensory organ precursor cells in the imaginal discs of Drosophila. These genes encode transcriptional regulators of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) class. We have found that direct, positive transcriptional autoregulation by the ac protein and cross-regulation by sc are essential for high-level expression of the ac promoter in the proneural cluster pattern and that autoactivation is important for the bristle-promoting function of the ac gene. These auto- and cross-regulatory activities are antagonized in a dose-dependent manner by the inhibitory HLH protein encoded by the extramacrochaetae (emc) gene. We have found that emc is expressed in the wing imaginal disc in a pattern strongly complementary to that of the proneural clusters. Our results indicate that emc plays an essential early role in defining territories of bristle-forming potential.
Source: Genes & Development
Authors: M Van Doren, P A Powell, D Pasternak, A Singson, J W Posakony
Institution: University of California San Diego
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2003927747