Schneitz K, Spielmann P, Noll M. Molecular genetics of aristaless, a prd-type homeo box gene involved in the morphogenesis of proximal and distal pattern elements in a subset of appendages in Drosophila.
Genes Dev 1993;
7:114-29. [PMID:
8093690 DOI:
10.1101/gad.7.1.114]
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Abstract
Viable aristaless (al) mutations of Drosophila affect pattern elements at both ends of the proximodistal axis in a subset of adult appendages. The al gene has been cloned and identified by P-element-mediated germ-line transformation with a genomic DNA fragment, which rescues a lethal mutation of al as well as aspects of the adult al phenotype. The al gene contains a prd-type homeo domain and a Pro/Gln-rich domain and, hence, probably encodes a transcription factor. Its transcript distribution in third-instar imaginal discs closely corresponds to the anlagen of the tissues that later become visibly affected in adult al mutants. The striking similarity of a bimodal al expression in different imaginal discs indicates that al is under the control of a "prepattern," which is shared at least among antennal, leg, and wing discs. The al gene is also transcribed during embryogenesis. Apart from a function in the ontogeny of specific larval head and tail organs, its embryonic transcript pattern suggests a possible role in early imaginal disc development.
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