The role of position in determining homoeotic gene function in Drosophila (original) (raw)

Nature volume 300, pages 191–192 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

Homoeotic mutations of Drosophila lead to the replacement of one structure by another, for example, _Antennapedia_1 replaces the antenna with a mesothoracic leg and bithorax produces an anterior wing instead of the anterior haltere. The transformed structures differentiated by the homoeotic mutants are essentially normal—only the position in which they appear is abnormal. The mutant phenotypes suggest that in normal development homoeotic genes are involved in developmental alternatives and contribute to a genetic address that defines the particular developmental pathway taken by a primordial group of cells2–5. Thus, in the absence of homoeotic gene function, primordia in different positions should follow the same basic developmental pathway. This is indeed the case for embryos that show no activity of bithorax genes; thoracic and abdominal segments develop as mesothorax6. The simplest view on homoeotic gene function is that the genes act selectively on primordia depending on their position in the embryo. To test this hypothesis, we used a mutation at the Antennapedia locus, Antp 73b, which transforms the antenna into a mesothoracic leg, and we observed the function of the homoeotic genes engrailed and Ultrabithorax in two apparently morphologically identical appendages which develop from primordia in different positions. Our results indicate that position is the relevant factor in the function of these two homoeotic genes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Biología Molecular, CSIC, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Canto Blanco, Madris, 34, Spain
    Gines Morata & Stephen Kerridge

Authors

  1. Gines Morata
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  2. Stephen Kerridge
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Morata, G., Kerridge, S. The role of position in determining homoeotic gene function in Drosophila.Nature 300, 191–192 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/300191a0

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