Nature 340, 363 - 367 (03 August 1989); doi:10.1038/340363a0

Determination of spatial domains of zygotic gene expression in the Drosophila embryo by the affinity of binding sites for the bicoid morphogen

Wolfgang Driever, Gudrun Thoma & Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Abteilung Genetik, Spemannstrasse 35/111, D-7400 Tubingen, FRG

The maternal gene bicoid is a key component of the system that determines the pattern of the anterior half of Drosophila embryos. The bicoid protein forms a concentration gradient in early embryos, and is known to bind DNA. Specific binding sites are now shown to confer expression in a region of the embryo that depends on their affinity for bicoid protein: sites of high affinity allow expression further down the bicoid protein gradient than sites of low affinity.

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