Abstract
We have used a monoclonal antibody to examine the distribution of Ultrabithorax (Ubx) proteins in Drosophila embryos and imaginal discs by immunofluorescence. Ubx proteins are nuclear and show a spatially restricted distribution in the nervous system, epidermis and mesoderm. Labelling extends from the first thoracic segment (T1) to the eighth abdominal segment (A8) in the midline cells, from T2 to A8 in the ventral nervous system and epidermis and from A1 to A8 in the somatic mesoderm. In the nervous systems and epidermis the patterns of labelling exhibit a repeat unit, the Ubx metamere, that is out of phase with the segmental repeat unit. At least in the epidermis this repeat unit appears to extend between anterior-posterior compartment boundaries and consists of a posterior compartment together with the succeeding anterior compartment. The most prominently labelled metamere in the nervous system and epidermis is that comprising the posterior region of T3 and the anterior region of A1. Within each metamere the nuclei are heterogeneously labelled. Clear heterogeneity of labelling is also seen amongst the nuclei of the T3 imaginal discs.
Keywords: bithorax complex, Drosophila, homeotic genes
Full text
PDF








Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Akam M. E. The location of Ultrabithorax transcripts in Drosophila tissue sections. EMBO J. 1983;2(11):2075–2084. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01703.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bate C. M., Grunewald E. B. Embryogenesis of an insect nervous system II: a second class of neuron precursor cells and the origin of the intersegmental connectives. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 1981 Feb;61:317–330. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Beachy P. A., Helfand S. L., Hogness D. S. Segmental distribution of bithorax complex proteins during Drosophila development. Nature. 1985 Feb 14;313(6003):545–551. doi: 10.1038/313545a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bender W., Akam M., Karch F., Beachy P. A., Peifer M., Spierer P., Lewis E. B., Hogness D. S. Molecular Genetics of the Bithorax Complex in Drosophila melanogaster. Science. 1983 Jul 1;221(4605):23–29. doi: 10.1126/science.221.4605.23. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bownes M. A photographic study of development in the living embryo of Drosophila melanogaster. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 1975 Jun;33(3):789–801. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hausen P., Dreyer C. The use of polyacrylamide as an embedding medium for immunohistochemical studies of embryonic tissues. Stain Technol. 1981 Sep;56(5):287–293. doi: 10.3109/10520298109067329. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hayes P. H., Sato T., Denell R. E. Homoeosis in Drosophila: the ultrabithorax larval syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Jan;81(2):545–549. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.2.545. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jan L. Y., Jan Y. N. Antibodies to horseradish peroxidase as specific neuronal markers in Drosophila and in grasshopper embryos. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Apr;79(8):2700–2704. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.8.2700. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lawrence P. A., Johnston P. The genetic specification of pattern in a Drosophila muscle. Cell. 1984 Mar;36(3):775–782. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90357-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lewis E. B. A gene complex controlling segmentation in Drosophila. Nature. 1978 Dec 7;276(5688):565–570. doi: 10.1038/276565a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Martinez-Arias A., Lawrence P. A. Parasegments and compartments in the Drosophila embryo. Nature. 1985 Feb 21;313(6004):639–642. doi: 10.1038/313639a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Morata G., Kerridge S. Sequential functions of the bithorax complex of Drosophila. Nature. 1981 Apr 30;290(5809):778–781. doi: 10.1038/290778a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Palka J., Lawrence P. A., Hart H. S. Neural projection patterns from homeotic tissue of Drosophila studied in bithorax mutants and mosaics. Dev Biol. 1979 Apr;69(2):549–575. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(79)90311-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sánchez-Herrero E., Vernós I., Marco R., Morata G. Genetic organization of Drosophila bithorax complex. Nature. 1985 Jan 10;313(5998):108–113. doi: 10.1038/313108a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Thomas J. B., Bastiani M. J., Bate M., Goodman C. S. From grasshopper to Drosophila: a common plan for neuronal development. Nature. 1984 Jul 19;310(5974):203–207. doi: 10.1038/310203a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Thomas J. B., Wyman R. J. Duplicated neural structure in bithorax mutant Drosophila. Dev Biol. 1984 Apr;102(2):531–533. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(84)90222-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- White R. A., Perrimon N., Gehring W. J. Differentiation markers in the Drosophila ovary. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 1984 Dec;84:275–286. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- White R. A., Wilcox M. Protein products of the bithorax complex in Drosophila. Cell. 1984 Nov;39(1):163–171. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90202-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]