Molecular characterization of a novel Drosophila gene which is expressed in the central nervous system

We have isolated and characterized a novel Drosophila melanogaster gene (no e) that is specifically and abundantly expressed in the central nervous sys tem (CNS), The gene, which maps to 74B on the left arm of third chromosome, encodes a protein of 74 amino acids with no significant similarity to know n protein sequences, The deduced amino acid sequence of the gene product is rich in basic amino acids, especially the lysine, and contains five potent ial phosphorylation sites. The noe gene lacks introns and seems to produce two transcripts by alternative polyadenylations. The promoter region deduce d from 5'-RACE analysis contains a sequence similar to the TATA-box consens us sequence, RNA blot analysis detected 1.0 kb noe transcripts that are exp ressed from the third-instar larval stage to the adult stage and which are predominantly found in the adult heads. In situ hybridizations to tissue se ctions showed that the gene is abundantly expressed in neuronal cell bodies as well as in the neurophiles of adult and larval CNS (brain, optic lobe, and thoracic ganglia of adults and larval brain).