SEQUENCE AND EXPRESSION OF GRASSHOPPER ANTENNAPEDIA - COMPARISON TO DROSOPHILA

We have cloned and characterized the Antennapedia (Antp) gene from the grasshopper Schistocerca americana. The Antennapedia protein contains seven blocks of sequence, including the homeodomain, that are conserv ed in the homologous proteins of other insects, interspersed with (usu ally repetitive) sequences unique to each species. There is no similar ity between 1.8 kb of 3' untranslated sequence in grasshopper and Dros ophila. We examined Antennapedia protein expression in grasshopper usi ng an antibody raised against a grasshopper fusion protein and reexami ned its expression in Drosophila using several different antibodies. E arly patterns of expression in the two insects are quite different, re flecting differing modes of early development. However, by the germban d stage, expression patterns are quite similar, with relatively unifor m epithelial expression throughout the thoracic and abdominal segments which later retracts to the thorax. Expression is observed in muscle pioneers, the peripheral nervous system, and the central nervous syste m (CNS). In the CNS expression is initially limited to a few neurons, but eventually becomes widespread. Both insects show strong expression in certain homologous identified neurons and similar temporal modulat ion of expression. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.