Abstract
The Drosophila melanogaster z600 gene is zygotically expressed with gene transcripts accumulating transiently during early embryogenesis. Based on nucleotide sequence analysis, z600 is predicted to encode a small, basic, histone-like protein. Antibodies generated against a beta-galactosidase::z600 fusion protein immunoprecipitated the z600 in vitro translation product and detected a z600 protein present predominantly in 2- to 4-h embryos. We localized the z600 protein in whole-amount embryos by indirect immunofluorescence. These studies show that the protein is located in the nucleus and associated with chromatin in the syncytial blastoderm.
