Combinatorial control of Drosophila eye development by eyeless, homothorax, and teashirt.

In Drosophila, the development of the compound eye depends on the movement of a morphogenetic furrow (MF) from the posterior (P) to the anterior (A) of the eye imaginal disc. We define several subdomains along the A-P axis of the eye disc that express distinct combinations of transcription factors. One ...
subdomain, anterior to the MF, expresses two homeobox genes, eyeless (ey) and homothorax (hth), and the zinc-finger gene teashirt (tsh). We provide evidence that this combination of transcription factors may function as a complex and that it plays at least two roles in eye development: it blocks the expression of later-acting transcription factors in the eye development cascade, and it promotes cell proliferation. A key step in the transition from an immature proliferative state to a committed state in eye development is the repression of hth by the BMP-4 homolog Decapentaplegic (Dpp).
Mesh Terms:
Animals, Animals, Genetically Modified, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, DNA-Binding Proteins, Drosophila, Drosophila Proteins, Eye, Eye Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Genes, Homeobox, Genes, Insect, Homeodomain Proteins, Insect Proteins, Lac Operon, Nuclear Proteins, Repressor Proteins, Transcription Factors, Zinc Fingers
Genes Dev.
Date: Sep. 15, 2002
Download Curated Data For This Publication
13766
Switch View:
  • Interactions 5