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Relationship between the product of the Drosophila ultraspiracle locus and the vertebrate retinoid X receptor

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Abstract

THE vitamin A derivative, retinoic acid, can regulate morpho-genesis and differentiation in vertebrates1,2. Two different sub-families of the steroid receptor superfamily of transcription factors, the retinoic acid receptors and the retinoid X receptor, mediate the effects of retinoic acid3–6. As part of an analysis of the hormonal control of development, we have examined the Drosophila genome for retinoic acid receptor homologues7. Here we describe one such gene, XR2C, which encodes a product with structural similarity to the human retinoic acid-responsive tran-scription factor, retinoid X receptor. This receptor-like protein is encoded by ultraspiracle (usp), a locus required both maternally and zygotically for pattern formation. The discovery that the usp product is a retinoid X receptor homologue suggests that similar chemical cues underlie morphogenic signalling in vertebrate and invertebrate systems.

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Author notes

  1. Ronald M. Evans: To whom correspondence should be addressed

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Gene Expression Laboratory, The Salk Institute, PO Box 85800, La Jolla, California, 92138, USA

    Anthony E. Oro & Ronald M. Evans

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Molecular Biology and Virology Laboratory, The Salk Institute, PO Box 85800, La Jolla, California, 92138, USA

    Michael McKeown

  3. Department of Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA

    Anthony E. Oro

Authors
  1. Anthony E. Oro
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  2. Michael McKeown
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  3. Ronald M. Evans
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Oro, A., McKeown, M. & Evans, R. Relationship between the product of the Drosophila ultraspiracle locus and the vertebrate retinoid X receptor. Nature 347, 298–301 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/347298a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/347298a0

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