Senseless acts as a binary switch during sensory organ precursor selection.
During sensory organ precursor (SOP) specification, a single cell is selected from a proneural cluster of cells. Here, we present evidence that Senseless (Sens), a zinc-finger transcription factor, plays an important role in this process. We show that Sens is directly activated by proneural proteins in the presumptive SOPs and ... a few cells surrounding the SOP in most tissues. In the cells that express low levels of Sens, it acts in a DNA-binding-dependent manner to repress transcription of proneural genes. In the presumptive SOPs that express high levels of Sens, it acts as a transcriptional activator and synergizes with proneural proteins. We therefore propose that Sens acts as a binary switch that is fundamental to SOP selection.
Mesh Terms:
Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, DNA-Binding Proteins, Drosophila, Drosophila Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Nuclear Proteins, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Repressor Proteins, Sense Organs, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic
Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, DNA-Binding Proteins, Drosophila, Drosophila Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Nuclear Proteins, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Repressor Proteins, Sense Organs, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic
Genes Dev.
Date: Dec. 01, 2003
PubMed ID: 14665671
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