Pecasse F, Beck Y, Ruiz C, Richards G. Krüppel-homolog, a stage-specific modulator of the prepupal ecdysone response, is essential for Drosophila metamorphosis.
Dev Biol 2000;
221:53-67. [PMID:
10772791 DOI:
10.1006/dbio.2000.9687]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We have characterised a P-element-induced prepupal mutant of Drosophila melanogaster which after an apparently normal embryonic and larval development fails to complete head eversion, an essential step in metamorphosis. The P-element insertion disrupts an ecdysone-regulated transcript which, although expressed during embryonic and larval stages, appears critical for preparing the late prepupal response to ecdysone. By a combination of molecular and genetic studies, in which we recovered new alleles, we show that the locus is complex, containing at least two distinct promoters. Its transcripts contain a short region described previously by R. Schüh et al. (1986, Cell 47, 1025-1032), who screened for homologues of the Krüppel gene. Our studies on the corresponding gene, named Krüppel-homolog (Kr-h), add to a growing body of evidence that specific isoforms of a number of key genes are implicated in both embryogenesis and metamorphosis.
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