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. 2015 Jul 31;11(7):e1005400. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005400

Fig 7. A comparison of competing pathways under P53 control in Drosophila and vertebrates.

Fig 7

A DNA double-strand break activates the DNA damage response leading to activation of P53. In Drosophila, transcription of the well-known pro-apoptotic genes hid and reaper is activated in one pathway downstream from P53, while transcription of the anti-apoptotic gene corp is activated in a second downstream pathway that constitutes a negative feedback loop on P53. These competing pathways are analogous to those found in vertebrates, where P53 promotes apoptosis by inducing a variety of pro-apoptotic genes in one pathway and the P53 negative regulator Mdm2 in a competing branch. Altering the activity of these competing pathways alters the life or death outcome initiated by the DNA damage signal.