| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
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| Research Abstract |
This research project aimed to elucidate regulatory mechanisms of genes that are essential for establishing and maintaining the state of differentiation in the digestive tract of Drosophila. During the period of this project(2004-2005), following results were obtained.
1.An endoderm-specific GATA factor gene, dGATAe, was identified and cloned. dGATAe probed to be a target of srp gene, and essential for activating functional genes in the differentiated endodermal midgut.
2.Marker genes in the differentiated midgut were comprehensively identified, and their responses to the depletion and overexpression of dGATAe were analyzed. dGATAe was found to activate a major subset of genes in the midgut.
3.byn is an ortholog of the vertebrate Brachyury gene, and essential for specifying the hindgut of Drosophila. The expression domain of byn is determined by the two genes : tll, which is an activator of byn ; srp, which is a repressor of byn. byn expression in the hindgut persists after both of tll and srp disappear in early developmental stages. We have done enhancer analysis of byn in order to identify cis-elements that are resposible for the regulation of byn expression in the hindgut, and identified genomic sequences that have enhancer activity specific for the hindgut region.
4.Dorsal domain of the Drosophila hindgut is specified by a selector gene en, expression of which continues in this domain throughout life. We have found Drosophila Tbx6 genes, Doc1/2/3, is essential for establishing the expression pattern of en in the hindgut, and an outline of the regulatory pathway of en was presented.
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