The Drosophila gene tailless is expressed at the embryonic termini and is a member of the steroid receptor superfamily |
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Authors: | F Pignoni R M Baldarelli E Steingrímsson R J Diaz A Patapoutian J R Merriam J A Lengyel |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-1606. |
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Abstract: | The zygotically active tailless (tll) gene plays a key role in the establishment of nonmetameric domains at the anterior and posterior poles of the Drosophila embryo. We have cloned the tll gene and show that it encodes a protein with striking similarity to steroid hormone receptors in both the DNA binding "finger" and ligand binding domains. tll RNA is initially expressed in embryos in two mirror-image symmetrical domains; this pattern then quickly resolves into a pattern consistent with the mutant phenotype: a posterior cap and an anterior dorsal stripe. That the tll gene may also play a role in the nervous system is suggested by its strong expression in the forming brain and transient expression in the peripheral nervous system. |
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