Seven Genes of the Enhancer of split Complex of Drosophila melanogaster Encode Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins

• Published in: Genetics (Austin) Vol. 132; no. 2; pp. 505 - 518
• Main Authors: Knust, E, Schrons, H, Grawe, F, Campos-Ortega, J. A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Genetics Soc America 01.10.1992; Genetics Society of America
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Chromosome Mapping; DNA - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - physiology; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - embryology; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Drosophila Proteins; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes. Genome; Genetics; Investigations; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Mosquitoes; Multigene Family; Nervous System - embryology; Repressor Proteins; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Skin - embryology; Embryonic development; Molecular hybridization; Genome organization; Nucleotide sequence; Insecta; In situ; Homology; Nervous system; Gene expression; Drosophilidae; Complementary DNA; Arthropoda; Multigene family; Invertebrata; Drosophila melanogaster; Diptera
• ISSN: 0016-6731; 1943-2631; 1943-2631
• DOI: 10.1093/genetics/132.2.505

Enhancer of split [E(spl)] is one of the neurogenic loci of Drosophila and, as such, is required for normal segregation of neural and epidermal cell progenitors. Genetic observations indicate that the E(spl) locus is in fact a gene complex comprising a cluster of related genes and that other genes of the region are also required for normal early neurogenesis. Three of the genes of the complex were known to encode helix-loop-helix (HLH) proteins and to be transcribed in nearly identical patterns. Here, we show that four other genes in the vicinity also encode HLH proteins and, during neuroblast segregation, three of them are expressed in the same pattern. We show by germ-line transformation that these three genes are also necessary to allow epidermal development of the neuroectodermal cells.