Abstract
The maternal gene torso, required for determination of anterior and posterior terminal structures in the Drosophila embryo, was cloned using P-element tagging. Genetic evidence suggests that the action of the gene product is spatially restricted to the terminal regions; the torso messenger RNA, however, is evenly distributed. Structural similarities of the predicted torso protein with growth-factor receptor tyrosine kinases suggest that the spatial restriction of torso activity results from a localized activation of the torso protein at the anterior and posterior egg pole.
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Sprenger, F., Stevens, L. & Nüsslein-Volhard, C. The Drosophila gene torso encodes a putative receptor tyrosine kinase. Nature 338, 478–483 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338478a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/338478a0
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