Several genes involved in the determination of Drosophila body segments share a conserved DNA sequence of 183 nucleotides termed the homoeo box. Homologous homoeo box sequences have been detected in the genome of species ranging from insects and anellids to vertebrates, and a number of homoeo box-containing genomic DNA clones have been isolated from Xenopus, mouse and human. We have recently isolated human complementary DNA clones containing homoeo box sequences, representing transcripts from four different genes. We report here the nucleotide sequence of one of these clones (HHO.c10) and show that the corresponding gene is transcribed in human embryos and fetuses at 5-10 weeks post-conception. A major polyadenylated transcript of approximately 2.1 kilobases (kb), as well as RNA species of higher relative molecular mass (Mr), are specifically expressed at a constant level in spinal cord throughout this developmental period.
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Pattern formation in the developing eye of Drosophila melanogaster is regulated by the homoeo-box gene, rough.
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July 1988
CSIRO Division of Entomology, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Homoeo-box genes play a central role in the regulation of embryogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. Their widespread phylogenetic distribution, and the tissue and stage specificity of their expression in other organisms, argue that they play a general and significant role in animal development. In D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTissue distribution and localization of RNAs from the Xeb1 homoeo-box-containing gene were monitored with Northern blots and in situ hybridization. Xeb1 transcript distribution in larval stage embryos was established by blotting RNAs extracted from microdissected embryos. Those transcripts are restricted to a limited number of embryonic regions such as the dorsal trunk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Drosophila elaboration of positional identity along the anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral embryonic body axes involves early zygotic gene functions that are expressed in response to maternal cues present in the unfertilized egg. Zygotic loci that are required for the specification of positional identity along the anterior-posterior body axis have been described in detail. Less is known about the zygotic loci responsible for differentiation of the dorsal-ventral pattern; however, several genes that might be involved have been identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral genes involved in the determination of Drosophila body segments share a conserved DNA sequence of 183 nucleotides termed the homoeo box. Homologous homoeo box sequences have been detected in the genome of species ranging from insects and anellids to vertebrates, and a number of homoeo box-containing genomic DNA clones have been isolated from Xenopus, mouse and human. We have recently isolated human complementary DNA clones containing homoeo box sequences, representing transcripts from four different genes.
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