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First published online November 3, 2003

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Giving flies a leg up

On p. 5929 Estella et al. shed new light on how the morphological distinction between ventral and dorsal structures is achieved during development. In Drosophila, legs and antennae develop from the ventral imaginal discs, and Estella and co-workers report that the product of a single gene called buttonhead (btd) can trigger the entire genetic network needed for leg and antennal development. RNAi downregulation of btd, which encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor, together with an adjacent related transcription factor, Sp1, resulted in underdeveloped legs and antennae. Conversely, when btd was ectopically expressed in dorsal imaginal discs, the normal products of these discs – eyes, wings and halteres – were replaced by antennae and legs. This transformation involved the de novo activation of the engrailed/hedgehog/wingless/decapentaplegic cascade responsible for the growth and pattern of ventral imaginal discs.

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Related articles in Development:

The role of buttonhead and Sp1 in the development of the ventral imaginal discs of Drosophila

Carlos Estella, Gabrielle Rieckhof, Manuel Calleja, and Ginés Morata
Development 2003 130: 5929-5941. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?