Kohlhase J, Schuh R, Dowe G, Kühnlein R P, Jäckle H, Schroeder B, Schulz-Schaeffer W, Kretzschmar H A, Köhler A, Müller U, Raab-Vetter M, Burkhardt E, Engel W, Stick R
Abteilung Molekulare Entwicklungsbiologie, Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Am Fassberg, Göttingen, D-37077, Germany.
Genomics. 1996 Dec 15;38(3):291-8. doi: 10.1006/geno.1996.0631.
The region-specific homeotic gene spalt (sal) of Drosophila specifies head and tail as opposed to trunk segments. During later stages of ontogenesis, sal is also expressed and required in a small number of tissues and organs in the developing embryo. sal encodes a zinc finger protein of unusual but characteristic structure. We made use of these unique features to isolate sal-like genes from humans. Here we report the isolation and molecular characterization of two sal-like transcription units, termed Hsal1 and Hsal2, which are located on chromosomes 16q12.1 and 14q11.1-q12.1, respectively. Their transcripts are expressed in a limited number of adult organs, including the brain. While Hsal2 is evenly expressed in different brain areas, Hsal1 transcripts preferentially accumulate in the corpus callosum and the substantia nigra. In the fetal brain, transcripts of both genes were detected in neurons. The arrangement of sal-like zinc finger domains and their high degree of sequence similarity suggest a novel and conserved subfamily of human zinc finger transcription factors that is closely related to the Drosophila gene product encoded by the gene sal.
果蝇的区域特异性同源异型基因spalt（sal）决定头部和尾部，而非躯干部段。在个体发育的后期阶段，sal在发育中胚胎的少数组织和器官中也有表达且发挥作用。sal编码一种结构独特但具有特征性的锌指蛋白。我们利用这些独特特征从人类中分离出sal样基因。在此我们报告两个sal样转录单位Hsal1和Hsal2的分离及分子特征，它们分别位于16号染色体的16q12.1和14号染色体的14q11.1 - q12.1上。它们的转录本在包括大脑在内的少数成年器官中表达。虽然Hsal2在不同脑区均匀表达，但Hsal1转录本优先在胼胝体和黑质中积累。在胎儿大脑中，这两个基因的转录本在神经元中均被检测到。sal样锌指结构域的排列及其高度的序列相似性表明，人类锌指转录因子存在一个与果蝇sal基因编码的基因产物密切相关的新的保守亚家族。
