DAP-2, the Drosophila homolog of transcription factor AP-2.

Transcription factor AP-2 is essential for craniofacial, nervous system, and limb development in the mouse. We report here the cloning and expression pattern analysis of DAP-2, the Drosophila homolog of AP-2 family genes. DAP-2 is expressed in discrete regions of procephalic neuroectoderm, the brain, ventral nerve cord, and maxillary segment during Drosophila embryogenesis, and in the brain, optic lobes, ventral nerve cord, antenno-maxillary complex, and antennal and leg imaginal disks in third instar larvae. Protein sequence conservation and parallels between the embryonic expression patterns of DAP-2 and mammal ian AP-2 family genes indicate that transcription factor AP-2 has been structurally and functionally conserved during metazoan evolution.