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Genetics, Vol 132, 453-469, Copyright © 1992
INVESTIGATIONS |
Comparative Studies of Drosophila Antennapedia Genes
J. E. Hooper, M. Perez-Alonso, J. R. Bermingham, M. Prout, B. A. Rocklein, M. Wagenbach, J. E. Edstrom, R. D. Frutos and M. P. Scott
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 Both authors should be considered as equivalent first authors. J.H. is the primary author of the Dv project and M.P.A. is the primary author of the Ds project. Current address: Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262.
The Antennapedia (Antp) homeotic gene of Drosophila melanogaster controls cell fates and pattern formation in the epidermis, nervous system and mesoderm of thoracic segments. Its expression is controlled at the levels of transcription, alternative RNA splicing, polyadenylation and translation. Two nested Antp transcription units extend over 103 kb and produce sixteen different transcripts. We have compared the Antp genes of Drosophila virilis, Drosophila subobscura and D. melanogaster to determine which structural features are conserved and therefore may be important to the gene's function. The overall gene structures are similar. There are many conserved sequence blocks throughout the large introns, at least 15 kb upstream of the first promoter, and at least 3 kb downstream of the last polyadenylation site. Intron and exon sequence conservation around alternative splice sites indicates that alternative protein coding forms may also be conserved. Protein coding potential is perfectly conserved around the C-terminal homeodomain, well conserved in the N-terminal region, and more variable in the middle. The large size of the Antp gene may reflect a large number of control elements necessary for appropriate Antp protein expression. The conservation of transcript complexity suggests functional requirements for the different protein forms.
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