THE MUB GENE ENCODES A PROTEIN CONTAINING 3 KH DOMAINS AND IS EXPRESSED IN THE MUSHROOM BODIES OF DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER

The ring gland function of Drosophila melanogaster is controlled by th e CNS. To identify genes that are active in brain cells and are involv ed in the ring gland control, we analysed enhancer trap lines with res pect to CNS- and/or ring gland-specific lacZ expression in third-insta r larvae. From one of the enhancer trap lines, which shows specific la cZ expression in the CNS and prothoracic part of the ring gland, the m ub gene was cloned. The gene is strongly expressed in the mushroom bod ies throughout development. Nucleotide sequence analysis of cDNA clone s revealed a high degree of similarity to vertebrate RNA binding KH do main proteins, suggesting a function of the MUB protein in binding and stabilizing of specific mRNAs in the mushroom bodies. Null mutants of the mub gene do not exhibit a visible mutant phenotype. We speculate, therefore, that the mub gene is involved in learning and memory proce sses. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.