Conserved overlapping and reciprocal expression of msh/Msx1 and apterous/Lhx2 in Drosophila and mice

Here we describe and compare the expression patterns of the murine genes Lh x2 and Msx1 and their Drosophila orthologues apterous (ap) and muscle-segme nt homeobox (msh). We find that Lhx2 and Msx1 show complementary patterns o f expression in most tissues including the neural and cranial epithelium, p ituitary gland, olfactory organs, and neural tube; in contrast, Lhx2 and Ms x1 are coexpressed in the developing limbs. Strikingly, the spatial relatio nship between ap and msh expression in Drosophila is very reminiscent of th e expression of their murine orthologues. np and msh show complementary exp ression in the leg and antennal imaginal discs, brain and ventral ganglion of the central nervous system (CNS), but both are coexpressed in the wing i maginal disc. These observations suggest conservation in the regulation of these genes between Drosophila and mice. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.