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Pattern formation in the developing eye of Drosophila melanogaster is regulated by the homoeo-box gene, rough

Nature volume 334, pages 151–154 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Homoeo-box genes play a central role in the regulation of embryogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster1–6. Their widespread phylogenetic distribution7–9, and the tissue and stage specificity of their expression in other organisms10–16, argue that they play a general and significant role in animal development. In D. melanogaster, all homoeo-box genes characterized to date are involved in major aspects of embryogenesis. We report here the molecular characterization of a Drosophila homoeo-box gene that has no apparent involvement in early embryogenesis. The gene appears to be rough, a gene implicated in pattern formation in the developing eye17,18. It is expressed in cells within, and posterior to, the morphogenetic furrow, the site of the primary pattern forming events in the developing retina19–22, and also in a region of the brain of the third instar larva. We have found no genetic or molecular evidence of a role for this gene in other aspects of fly development.

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Author notes

  1. Bill Kalionis

    Present address: Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Division of Entomology, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Robert Saint, Bill Kalionis & Abigail Elizur

  2. CSIRO Division of Biotechnology, PO Box 184, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

    Trevor J. Lockett

Authors
  1. Robert Saint
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  2. Bill Kalionis
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  3. Trevor J. Lockett
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  4. Abigail Elizur
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Saint, R., Kalionis, B., Lockett, T. et al. Pattern formation in the developing eye of Drosophila melanogaster is regulated by the homoeo-box gene, rough. Nature 334, 151–154 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334151a0

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