Identification of Two Regions from the Drosophila decapentaplegic Gene Required for Embryonic Midgut Development and Larval Viability

• Published in: Developmental biology Vol. 159; no. 1; pp. 276 - 287
• Main Authors: Masucci, James D., Hoffmann, F.Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.09.1993; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Digestive System - embryology; Drosophila; Drosophila Proteins; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Insect Hormones - genetics; Insecta; Invertebrates; Larva - genetics; Life cycle. Embryology. Development; Male; Mutation; Phenotype; Physiology. Development; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; Restriction Mapping; Transcription, Genetic; Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics; Embryonic development; Embryo; Digestive system; Insecta; Drosophila; Gut; Gene expression; Drosophilidae; Arthropoda; Morphology; Mutation; Invertebrata; Viability; Diptera
• ISSN: 0012-1606; 1095-564X
• DOI: 10.1006/dbio.1993.1240

The Drosophila decapentaplegic (dpp) gene, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta family, is required for dorsal/ventral pattern formation and midgut and imaginal disk development. We have identified a 3-kb upstream regulatory region necessary for dpp expression in the visceral mesoderm of the gastric caeca primordia and a second 2.5-kb upstream regulatory region necessary for dpp expression in the midgut visceral mesoderm corresponding to a portion of abdominal segments 1 and 2 (parasegment 7). These regulatory regions act over a distance of up to 10-kb on all four of the dpp promoters examined. Absence of dpp expression in the gastric caeca primordia caused defective development of the gastric caeca and a concomitant partial reduction in larval and pupal viability. Absence of dpp expression in the visceral mesoderm of parasegment 7 caused a reduction in the length of the central portion of the larval gut and a change in the morphology of the midgut cells in this region but had little effect on the survival of the animals to the adult stage. However, a larval lethal phenotype was observed when both the central portion of the larval midgut and the gastric caeca were defective.