The Drosophila melanogaster z600 gene encodes a chromatin-associated protein synthesized in the syncytial blastoderm.

The Drosophila melanogaster z600 gene is zygotically expressed with gene transcripts accumulating transiently during early embryogenesis. Based on nucleotide sequence analysis, z600 is predicted to encode a small, basic, histone-like protein. Antibodies generated against a beta-galactosidase::z600 fusion protein immunoprecipitated the z600 in vitro translation product and detected a z600 protein present predominantly in 2- to 4-h embryos. We localized the z600 protein in whole-amount embryos by indirect immunofluorescence. These studies show that the protein is located in the nucleus and associated with chromatin in the syncytial blastoderm.