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The nuclear receptor homologue Ftz-F1 and the homeodomain protein Ftz are mutually dependent cofactors

Nature volume 385, pages 548–552 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Nuclear hormone receptors and homeodomain proteins are two classes of transcription factor that regulate major developmental processes. Both depend on interactions with other proteins for specificity and activity. The Drosophila gene fushi tarazu (ftz)y which encodes a homeodomain protein1 (Ftz), is required zygo-tically for the formation of alternate segments in the developing embryo2. Here we show that the orphan nuclear receptor α Ftz-Fl (ref. 3), which is deposited in the egg during oogenesis4, is an obligatory cofactor for Ftz. The two proteins interact specifically and directly, both in vitro and in vivo, through a conserved domain in the Ftz polypeptide. This interaction suggests that other nuclear receptor/homeodomain protein interactions maybe important and common in developing organisms.

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Author notes

  1. Miklós Erdélyi

    Present address: Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Genetics, H-6701, Szeged, FOB 521, Hungary

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Developmental Biology Programme, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

    Antoine Guichet, Miklós Erdélyi, Péter Závorszky & Anne Ephrussi

  2. Banting and Best Department of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Charles H. Best Institute, 112 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 1L6

    John W. R. Copeland, Daniela Hlousek & Henry M. Krause

  3. Department of Zoology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7

    Jacqueline Ho & Anthony Percival-Smith

  4. Division of Biology, Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA

    Susan Brown

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Guichet, A., Copeland, J., Erdélyi, M. et al. The nuclear receptor homologue Ftz-F1 and the homeodomain protein Ftz are mutually dependent cofactors. Nature 385, 548–552 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/385548a0

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