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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1992 Apr 15;89(8):3414–3418. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.8.3414

Dorsal-ventral patterning in Drosophila: DNA binding of snail protein to the single-minded gene.

Y Kasai 1, J R Nambu 1, P M Lieberman 1, S T Crews 1
PMCID: PMC48878  PMID: 1533042

Abstract

The Drosophila snail gene is required for proper mesodermal development. Genetic studies suggest that it functions by repressing adjacent ectodermal gene expression including that of the single-minded (sim) gene. The snail gene encodes a protein with a zinc-finger motif, and here we report that the snail gene product is a sequence-specific DNA binding protein. The snail protein recognizes a 14-base-pair consensus sequence that is found nine times in a 2.8-kilobase sim regulatory region. These results provide evidence for the direct control of sim transcription by snail.

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Selected References

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