Identification of maverick, a novel member of the TGF-beta superfamily in Drosophila

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily of structurally related ligands regulates essential signaling pathways that control many as pects of cell behavior in organisms across the phylogenetic spectrum. Here we report the identification of maverick (mav), a gene that encodes a new m ember of the TGF-beta superfamily in Drosophila. Phylogenetic analysis and sequence comparison suggest that Mav cannot be easily assigned to any one s ub-family, since it is equally related to BMP, activin and TGF-beta ligands . mav maps to the fourth chromosome and is expressed throughout development . In situ hybridization experiments reveal the presence of maternally deriv ed mav transcript in precellular blastoderm embryos. Later in development, mav is expressed in a dynamic pattern in the developing gut, both in endode rmal and visceral mesodermal cells. In adult females, high levels of mav mR NA are present in late stage egg chambers. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Irelan d Ltd. All rights reserved.