Ka. Wharton et al., CONTROL OF CNS MIDLINE TRANSCRIPTION BY ASYMMETRIC E-BOX-LIKE ELEMENTS - SIMILARITY TO XENOBIOTIC RESPONSIVE REGULATION, Development, 120(12), 1994, pp. 3563-3569
Central nervous system midline cells constitute a discrete group of Dr
osophila embryonic cells with numerous functional and developmental ro
les. Corresponding to their separate identity, the midline cells displ
ay patterns of gene expression distinct from the lateral central nervo
us system. A conserved 5 base pair sequence (ACGTG) was identified in
central nervous system midline transcriptional enhancers of three gene
s. Germ-line transformation experiments indicate that this motif forms
the core of an element required for central nervous system midline tr
anscription. The central nervous system midline element is related to
the mammalian xenobiotic response element, which regulates transcripti
on of genes that metabolize aromatic hydrocarbons. These data suggest
a model whereby related basic-helix-loop-helix-PAS proteins interact w
ith asymmetric E-box-like target sequences to control these disparate
processes.