Development, Vol 110, Issue 1 141-149, Copyright © 1990 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

The closely related Drosophila sry beta and sry delta zinc finger proteins show differential embryonic expression and distinct patterns of binding sites on polytene chromosomes

F Payre, S Noselli, V Lefrere and A Vincent
Centre De Recherche de Biochimie et de Genetique Cellulaires du C.N.R.S., Toulouse, France.

Serendipity (sry) beta (beta) and delta (delta) are two finger protein genes resulting from a duplication event. Comparison of their respective protein products shows interspersed blocks of conserved and divergent amino-acid sequences. The most extensively conserved region corresponds to the predicted DNA-binding domain which includes 6 contiguous fingers; no significant sequence conservation is found upstream and downstream of the protein-coding region. We have analysed the evolutionary divergence of the sry beta and delta proteins on two separate levels, their embryonic pattern of expression and their DNA-binding properties in vitro and in vivo. By using specific antibodies and transformant lines containing beta-galactosidase fusion genes, we show that the sry beta and sry delta proteins are maternally inherited and present in embryonic nuclei at the onset of zygotic transcription, suggesting that they are transcription factors involved in this process. Zygotic synthesis of the sry beta protein starts during nuclear division cycles 12-13, prior to cellularisation of the blastoderm, while the zygotic sry delta protein is not detectable before germ band extension (stage 10 embryos). Contrary to sry delta, the zygotic sry beta protein constitutes only a minor fraction of the total embryonic protein. The sry beta and delta proteins made in E. coli bind to DNA, with partly overlapping specificities. Their in vivo patterns of binding to DNA, visualised by immunostaining polytene chromosomes, differ both in the number and position of their binding sites. Thus changes in expression pattern and DNA-binding specificity have contributed to the evolution of the sry beta and delta genes.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H.-R. Chung, U. Lohr, and H. Jackle Lineage-specific expansion of the Zinc Finger Associated Domain ZAD Mol. Biol. Evol., September 1, 2007; 24(9): 1934 - 1943. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. B. Zheng, Y.-H. Zhou, T. Maity, W. S.-L. Liao, and G. F. Saunders Activation of the human PAX6 gene through the exon 1 enhancer by transcription factors SEF and Sp1 Nucleic Acids Res., October 1, 2001; 29(19): 4070 - 4078. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F Payre, M Crozatier, and A Vincent Direct control of transcription of the Drosophila morphogen bicoid by the serendipity delta zinc finger protein, as revealed by in vivo analysis of a finger swap. Genes & Dev., November 15, 1994; 8(22): 2718 - 2728. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E Giniger, K Tietje, L. Jan, and Y. Jan lola encodes a putative transcription factor required for axon growth and guidance in Drosophila Development, January 6, 1994; 120(6): 1385 - 1398. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R Bodmer The gene tinman is required for specification of the heart and visceral muscles in Drosophila Development, January 7, 1993; 118(3): 719 - 729. [Abstract] [PDF]

				U Grossniklaus, R K Pearson, and W J Gehring The Drosophila sloppy paired locus encodes two proteins involved in segmentation that show homology to mammalian transcription factors. Genes & Dev., June 1, 1992; 6(6): 1030 - 1051. [Abstract] [PDF]