Both early and late Drosophila chorion gene promoters confer correct temporal, tissue and sex specificity on a reporter Adh gene.

Abstract

In vivo transformation studies have been performed using fusion constructs of chorion DNA and the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) structural gene. The results indicate that almost exclusively 5′ flanking DNA regions of the early (s36) and late (s15) chorion genes suffice for conferring normal chorion developmental specificity (sex, tissue and temporal) on the reporter gene. In the case of s15, the proximal 5′ flanking DNA up to position −370 is sufficient for specificity. However, quantitative analysis indicates that one or more elements within or downstream of the s15 gene are required, either transcriptionally or post‐transcriptionally, for attainment of an mRNA level comparable to that of the endogenous s15 gene (corrected for amplification); in the absence of such element(s), the average level of Adh transcript produced by fusion gene constructs is 18‐fold lower.

Vitellogenesis and Post-Vitellogenic Maturation of the Insect Ovarian Follicle

“…out mainly for the s15 and s36 chorion genes, and cis-regulatory elements for temporal, spatial, and quantitative control have been delineated (Spradling, 1993;Kafatos et al, 1995). Short (less than 100-400 bp) segments of 5 0 -flanking DNA are sufficient to confer correct tissue-specific expression and precise temporal regulation of the transgenes Romano et al, 1988). Cis-acting regulatory elements, identified by mutational analysis, include an essential positive element, characterized by the sequence TCACGT that is conserved in all the chorion gene promoters, negative and positive elements that confer temporal (early or late) specificity, and elements defining spatially restricted expression (review: Orr-Weaver, 1991;Tolias et al, 1993;Mariani et al, 1996).…”

Temporal regulation in development: negative and positive cis regulators dictate the precise timing of expression of a Drosophila chorion gene.

“…With the exception of some quantitative regulators, it appears that the cis regulatory elements dictating developmental specificity are found upstream and closely associated with the gene (11). In the present report, we analyze by in vitro mutagenesis the cis regulation of an s5-1 gene, marked with a unique DNA insertion and transformed in isolation of the other three chorion genes that normally flank it.…”

“…Crucial to its successful morphogenesis and function (4) is the programmed, sequential synthesis of the various chorion proteins during the 5-to 6-hr choriogenic period (oogenic stages [11][12][13][14]. The genes encoding these proteins are regulated, being expressed exclusively in the "1000 follicle cells that surround each maturing oocyte during overlapping "early" or "late" periods that are characteristic for each gene (5,6).…”

Induction and repression of the Drosophila Sgs-3 glue gene are mediated by distinct sequences in the proximal promoter.

“…Such constructs have been successfully exploited for developmental studies of other Drosophila promoters, e.g. YPJ (Garabedian et al, 1986), Sgs-4 (Shermoen et al, 1987), hsps (Xiao and Lis, 1988), ftz (Hiromi et al, 1985), Adh (Fischer and Maniatis, 1988), chorion genes (Romano et al, 1988) and Ubx , and stage-and tissue-specific expression has been observed with Sgs-3 fusion gene constructs, Sgs-3IAdh (Bourouis and Richards, 1985b) and Sgs-311acZ (Vijay Raghavan et al, 1986). This approach should enable us to detect any aberrant regulation, e.g.…”