Reference Report

Reference
Citation	Alonso, C.R., Maxton-Kuechenmeister, J., Akam, M. (2001). Evolution of Ftz protein function in insects. Curr. Biol. 11(18): 1473--1478. (Export to RIS)
FlyBase ID	FBrf0138268
Publication Type	Research paper
PubMed ID	11566109
PubMed Abstract	The Drosophila gene fushi tarazu (ftz) encodes a homeodomain-containing transcriptional regulator (Ftz) required at several stages during development. Drosophila melanogaster ftz (Dm-ftz) is first expressed in seven stripes defining alternate parasegments of the embryo--a "pair-rule" segmentation function [1, 2]. It is then expressed in specific neural precursor cells in the central nervous system and finally in the developing hindgut [3]. An Orthopteran ortholog of ftz (Sg-ftz, formally Dax) has been isolated from the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria [4]. The pattern of Sg-ftz expression in Schistocerca embryos suggests that some developmental roles of the ftz gene are likely to be conserved between these two species (e.g., CNS functions) while others may have diverged (e.g., segmentation functions). To test whether the function of the Ftz protein itself differs between these two species, here we compare the functions of Sg-Ftz and Dm-Ftz proteins by expressing both in Drosophila embryos. Sg-ftz mimics only poorly several segmentation roles of Dm-ftz (engrailed activation, wingless repression, and embryonic cuticle transformation). However, the two proteins are similarly active in the rescue of a CNS-specific ftz mutant. These findings argue that this ftz CNS function is mediated by conserved parts of the protein, while efficient pair-rule function requires sequences present specifically in the Drosophila protein.
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Language of Publication	English
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Publication Type	Journal
Abbreviation	Curr. Biol.
Title	Current Biology
Publication Year	1991-
ISBN/ISSN	0960-9822
Data from Reference
Alleles (7)
	Avic\GFP^Scer\UAS.cUa Ecol\lacZ^hb.P Ecol\lacZ^Scer\UAS.cUa ftz^11.3 ftz^hs.PS Scer\GAL4^ftz.ng Sgre\ftz^hs.PA
Constructs (6)
	P{GAL4-ftz.ng} P{HB-lacZ} P{hsp70-ftz} P{hs-Sgre\ftz} P{UAS-GFP.U} P{UAS-lacZ.U}
Genes (10)
	Avic\GFP Ecol\lacZ en eve ftz futsch Scer\GAL4 Sgre\ftz wg zfh1
Transcripts (1)
	Ecol\lacZ^hb.PRA