Clark K A, McKearin D M
Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9038, USA.
Development. 1996 Mar;122(3):937-50. doi: 10.1242/dev.122.3.937.
The differentiation of Drosophila germ cells is a useful model for studying mechanisms of cell specification. We report the identification of a gene, stonewall, that is required for germ cell development. Mutations in stonewall block proper oocyte differentiation and frequently cause the presumptive oocyte to develop as a nurse cell. Eventually, germ cells degenerate apoptotically. Stonewall is a germ cell nuclear protein; Stonewall has a DNA binding domain that shows similarities to the Myb and Adf-1 transcription factors and has other features that suggest that it is a transcription activating factor. We suggest that Stonewall transcriptional regulation is essential in cystocytes for maturation into specialized nurse cells and oocyte.
果蝇生殖细胞的分化是研究细胞特化机制的一个有用模型。我们报告了一个基因——石墙基因（stonewall）的鉴定，它是生殖细胞发育所必需的。石墙基因的突变会阻碍卵母细胞的正常分化，并经常导致推定的卵母细胞发育为滋养细胞。最终，生殖细胞通过凋亡而退化。石墙基因是一种生殖细胞核蛋白；石墙基因有一个DNA结合结构域，与Myb和Adf-1转录因子具有相似性，并且还有其他特征表明它是一种转录激活因子。我们认为，石墙基因的转录调控对于囊细胞成熟为特化的滋养细胞和卵母细胞至关重要。
