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Binding of a Drosophila POU-domain protein to a sequence element regulating gene expression in specific dopaminergic neurons

Nature volume 343, pages 467–470 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

SEVERAL genes have been identified that affect the specification of unique neuronal identities during development of the Drosophila central nervous system1–7. At least two of these genes, fushi tarazu (ftz)4 and even-skipped (eve)5 share a common structural motif, the homoeobox, which encodes a sequence-specific DNA-binding domain (homoeodomain)8. A family of related proteins has been recently characterized in mammals and nematodes that contain a diverged homoeodomain as part of a structure referred to as a POU domain9–15. Mammalian genes encoding POLJ domains have region-specific patterns of expression in the central nervous system15, indicating a potential role for them in the regulation of neuronal development. The nematode POU-domain gene, unc-86, is involved in the determination of neuroblast lineages leading to serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons13,14. We have now identified a Drosophila gene, Cf1a, encoding a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein containing a highly conserved POU domain. The Cf1a gene product binds to a DNA element required for expression of the dopa decarboxylase gene (Ddc) in selected dopaminergic neurons, implying that it functions as a neuron-specific transcription factor.

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Author notes

  1. W. A. Johnson

    Present address: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    W. A. Johnson & J. Hirsh

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  1. W. A. Johnson
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  2. J. Hirsh
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Johnson, W., Hirsh, J. Binding of a Drosophila POU-domain protein to a sequence element regulating gene expression in specific dopaminergic neurons. Nature 343, 467–470 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/343467a0

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