Price M, Lemaistre M, Pischetola M, Di Lauro R, Duboule D
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany.
Nature. 1991 Jun 27;351(6329):748-51. doi: 10.1038/351748a0.
Many genes known to be involved in embryogenesis and morphogenesis of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster encode proteins with a highly conserved region of 60 amino acids called the homeodomain. Mammalian counterparts for most of these genes have been identified, including those homologous to the Drosophila homeotic genes or to genes such as evenskipped, engrailed or caudal. We have isolated a murine homeobox gene that encodes a homeodomain similar to that encoded by the Drosophila Distalless (Dll) gene. Dll has a crucial role in Drosophila limb morphogenesis, partially specifying pattern along the proximo-distal axis of the limb. The murine counterpart is expressed in a restricted region of the developing brain, within the diencephalon and the adjacent telencephalic regions.
许多已知参与果蝇黑腹果蝇胚胎发生和形态发生的基因编码的蛋白质具有一个由60个氨基酸组成的高度保守区域，称为同源异型结构域。这些基因中的大多数在哺乳动物中的对应物已被鉴定出来，包括与果蝇同源异型基因或诸如even-skipped、engrailed或caudal等基因同源的那些基因。我们分离出了一个小鼠同源盒基因，它编码的同源异型结构域与果蝇远端缺失（Dll）基因编码的相似。Dll在果蝇肢体形态发生中起关键作用，部分决定了沿肢体近端-远端轴的模式。小鼠的对应物在发育中的大脑的一个受限区域中表达，即在间脑和相邻的端脑区域内。
