Article abstract
Nature Cell Biology 2, 500 - 506 (2000)
Published online: 13 July 2000 | doi:10.1038/35019537
Formation of the male-specific muscle in female Drosophila by ectopic fruitless expression
Kazue Usui-Aoki1,2, Hiroki Ito2, Kumiko Ui-Tei3, Kuniaki Takahashi1,2, Tamas Lukacsovich1,2, Wakae Awano2, Hiromi Nakata2, Zheng Fu Piao3, Eric E. Nilsson2, Jun-ya Tomida1,4 & Daisuke Yamamoto1,2
Abstract
The Drosophila fruitless (fru) gene product Fru has been postulated to be a neural sex-determination factor that directs the development of at least two male-specific characteristics, namely courtship behaviour and formation of the muscle of Lawrence (MOL). The fru gene encodes a putative transcription factor with a BTB domain and two zinc-finger motifs, and with consensus Tra-binding sequences. The binding of Tra to these sequences results in sex-specific alternative splicing of the fru mRNA, leading to production of the 'male-type' or 'female-type' Fru protein. We show here that the Fru protein is not detected in the female central nervous system (CNS), despite the similar level of expression of fru mRNA in both male and female CNS. As ectopic expression of both the 'male-type' (with the sequence for the amino-terminal extension) and 'female-type' (without the sequence for the amino-terminal extension) fru cDNA can induce formation of the MOL in females, the presence or absence of the Fru protein, and not its sex-specific structure, seems to be responsible for the sexually dimorphic actions of the fru gene.
- School of Human Sciences and Advanced Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 2-579-15, Mikajima, Tokorozawa 359-1192, Japan
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ERATO Yamamoto behaviour Genes Project, Japan Science
and Technology Corporation (JST), at Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Sciences
, Machida, Tokyo 194-8511, Japan
e-mail: daichan@mn.waseda.ac.jp - Department of Pharmacology, Nippon Medical School, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan
- Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 , Japan
