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TY - JOUR AU - Cohen, Stephen M. AU - Brönner, Günter AU - Küttner, Frank AU - Jürgens, Gerd AU - Jäckle, Herbert PY - 1989 DA - 1989/03/01 TI - Distal-less encodes a homoeodomain protein required for limb development in Drosophila JO - Nature SP - 432 EP - 434 VL - 338 IS - 6214 AB - THE spatial organization of the Drosophila embryo depends on the activity of three axial pattern-forming systems. In addition to the anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral systems that organize the segmented body plan1, a proximal-distal pattern-forming system is required to provide positional information for the developing limbs. The development of both the larval and adult limbs depends directly on the activity of the Distal-less gene2,3. Genetic analysis has shown that Distal-less functions as a developmental switch that is required to promote the development of limb structures above the evolutionary ground-state of body wall. Here we provide genetic evidence that indicates a graded requirement for Distal-less activity during limb development. Reduction of this activity has a global effect on pattern formation in the limb. The molecular structure of the Distal-less locus indicates that the gene encodes a homoeodomain-containing protein which is therefore likely to specify limb development through differential regulation of subordinate genes. SN - 1476-4687 UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/338432a0 DO - 10.1038/338432a0 ID - Cohen1989 ER -