|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
Development, Vol 121, Issue 6 1899-1910, Copyright © 1995 by Company of Biologists
JOURNAL ARTICLES |
D Curtis, J Apfeld and R Lehmann
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge 02142, USA.
In Drosophila melanogaster, nanos functions as a localized determinant of posterior pattern. Nanos RNA is localized to the posterior pole of the maturing egg cell and encodes a protein that emanates from this localized source. Nanos acts as a translational repressor and thereby establishes a gradient of the morphogen Hunchback. Here we show that the mechanism by which nanos acts in Drosophila is a common developmental strategy in Dipteran insects. We used cytoplasmic transplantation assays to demonstrate that nanos activity is found in posterior poleplasm of five diverse Dipteran species. Genes homologous to nanos were identified from Drosophila virilis, the housefly Musca domestica, and the midge Chironomus samoensis. These genes encode RNAs that are each localized, like nanos, to the embryonic posterior pole. Most importantly, we demonstrate that these homologues can functionally substitute for nanos in D. melanogaster. These results suggest that nanos acts in a similar pathway for axis determination in other insects. Comparison of the Nanos sequences reveals only 19% overall protein sequence similarity; high conservation of a novel zinc finger near the carboxy terminus of the protein defines a region critical for nanos gene function.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  Z. N. Adelman, N. Jasinskiene, S. Onal, J. Juhn, A. Ashikyan, M. Salampessy, T. MacCauley, and A. A. James nanos gene control DNA mediates developmentally regulated transposition in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti PNAS, June 12, 2007; 104(24): 9970 - 9975. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Strumane, A. Bonnomet, C. Stove, R. Vandenbroucke, B. Nawrocki-Raby, E. Bruyneel, M. Mareel, P. Birembaut, G. Berx, and F. van Roy E-Cadherin Regulates Human Nanos1, which Interacts with p120ctn and Induces Tumor Cell Migration and Invasion. Cancer Res., October 15, 2006; 66(20): 10007 - 10015. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. A. Wimmer, A. Carleton, P. Harjes, T. Turner, and C. Desplan bicoid-Independent Formation of Thoracic Segments in Drosophila Science, March 31, 2000; 287(5462): 2476 - 2479. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Verrotti and R. Wharton Nanos interacts with cup in the female germline of Drosophila Development, January 12, 2000; 127(23): 5225 - 5232. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. M. Bhat The Posterior Determinant Gene nanos Is Required for the Maintenance of the Adult Germline Stem Cells During Drosophila Oogenesis Genetics, April 1, 1999; 151(4): 1479 - 1492. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K Subramaniam and G Seydoux nos-1 and nos-2, two genes related to Drosophila nanos, regulate primordial germ cell development and survival in Caenorhabditis elegans Development, January 11, 1999; 126(21): 4861 - 4871. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Bergsten and E. Gavis Role for mRNA localization in translational activation but not spatial restriction of nanos RNA Development, January 2, 1999; 126(4): 659 - 669. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M Pilon and D. Weisblat A nanos homolog in leech Development, January 5, 1997; 124(9): 1771 - 1780. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I Ha, B Wightman, and G Ruvkun A bulged lin-4/lin-14 RNA duplex is sufficient for Caenorhabditis elegans lin-14 temporal gradient formation. Genes & Dev., December 1, 1996; 10(23): 3041 - 3050. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Gavis, L Lunsford, S. Bergsten, and R Lehmann A conserved 90 nucleotide element mediates translational repression of nanos RNA Development, January 9, 1996; 122(9): 2791 - 2800. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C Wolff, R Sommer, R Schroder, G Glaser, and D Tautz Conserved and divergent expression aspects of the Drosophila segmentation gene hunchback in the short germ band embryo of the flour beetle Tribolium Development, January 12, 1995; 121(12): 4227 - 4236. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
