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Nature Genetics 38, 1159–1165 (1 October 2006) | doi:10.1038/ng1886

Quantitative and predictive model of transcriptional control of the Drosophila melanogaster even skipped gene

Hilde Janssens , Shuling Hou , Johannes Jaeger , Ah-Ram Kim , Ekaterina Myasnikova , David Sharp & John Reinitz

Here we present a quantitative and predictive model of the transcriptional readout of the proximal 1.7 kb of the control region of the Drosophila melanogaster gene even skipped (eve). The model is based on the positions and sequence of individual binding sites on the DNA and quantitative, time-resolved expression data at cellular resolution. These data demonstrated new expression features, first reported here. The model correctly predicts the expression patterns of mutations in trans, as well as point mutations, insertions and deletions in cis. It also shows that the nonclassical expression of stripe 7 driven by this fragment is activated by the protein Caudal (Cad), and repressed by the proteins Tailless (Tll) and Giant (Gt).