Hooper J E, Scott M P
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309-0347.
Cell. 1989 Nov 17;59(4):751-65. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90021-4.
The patched (ptc) gene is one of several segment polarity genes required for correct patterning within every segment of Drosophila. The absence of ptc gene function causes a transformation of the fate of cells in the middle part of each segment so that they form pattern elements characteristic of cells positioned around the segment border. Analysis of the mutant phenotype demonstrates that both segment and parasegment borders are included in the duplicated pattern of ptc mutants. We have cloned the ptc gene and deduced that the product is a 1286 amino acid protein with at least seven putative transmembrane alpha helices. ptc RNA is expressed in embryos in broad stripes of segmental periodicity that later split into two stripes per segment primordium. The pattern of expression does not directly predict the transformation seen in ptc mutant embryos, suggesting that ptc participates in cell interactions that establish pattern within the segment.
patched（ptc）基因是果蝇每个体节内正确模式形成所需的几个体节极性基因之一。ptc基因功能的缺失会导致每个体节中部细胞命运的转变，使其形成位于体节边界周围细胞特有的模式元件。对突变体表型的分析表明，ptc突变体的重复模式中包含了体节和副体节边界。我们已经克隆了ptc基因，并推断其产物是一种含有至少七个推定跨膜α螺旋的1286个氨基酸的蛋白质。ptc RNA在胚胎中以节段周期性的宽条纹形式表达，随后每个体节原基分裂为两条条纹。这种表达模式并不能直接预测ptc突变体胚胎中出现的转变，这表明ptc参与了在体节内建立模式的细胞相互作用。
