Identification of a novel downstream midline regulatory element in .

Development of the central nervous system midline depends on the gene ( ). Although regulation has been studied extensively, the fact that an enhancer mediating late embryonic transcription has not been identified suggests that additional regulatory sequences remain unknown. We tested several evolutionarily conserved sequences in the downstream region and isolated , whose midline activity in a reporter gene assay begins later than previously characterized enhancers.

Improved methodology for fixation and preparation of Aedes aegypti embryos.

The yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti is a major disease vector and an increasingly popular emerging model research organism. We present here an improved protocol for the collection, fixation, and preparation of A. aegypti embryos for immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization studies.

Conserved and novel enhancers in the Aedes aegypti single-minded locus recapitulate embryonic ventral midline gene expression.

Transcriptional cis-regulatory modules, e.g., enhancers, control the time and location of metazoan gene expression.