Bicoid cooperative DNA binding is critical for embryonic patterning in Drosophila.

@article{citeulike:2647534, abstract = {Cooperative interactions by DNA-binding proteins have been implicated in cell-fate decisions in a variety of organisms. To date, however, there are few examples in which the importance of such interactions has been explicitly tested in vivo. Here, we tested the importance of cooperative DNA binding by the Bicoid protein in establishing a pattern along the anterior-posterior axis of the early Drosophila embryo. We found that bicoid mutants specifically defective in cooperative DNA binding fail to direct proper development of the head and thorax, leading to embryonic lethality. The mutants did not faithfully stimulate transcription of downstream target genes such as hunchback (hb), giant, and Kr\"{u}ppel. Quantitative analysis of gene expression in vivo indicated that bcd cooperativity mutants were unable to accurately direct the extent to which hb is expressed along the anterior-posterior axis and displayed a reduced ability to generate sharp on/off transitions for hb gene expression. These failures in precise transcriptional control demonstrate the importance of cooperative DNA binding for embryonic patterning in vivo.}, address = {Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 120 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208, USA.}, author = {Lebrecht, D. and Foehr, M. and Smith, E. and Lopes, F. J. and Vanario-Alonso, C. E. and Reinitz, J. and Burz, D. S. and Hanes, S. D. }, citeulike-article-id = {2647534}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.0506462102}, issn = {0027-8424}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}, keywords = {cooperative\_binding}, month = {September}, number = {37}, pages = {13176--13181}, posted-at = {2008-04-10 00:54:35}, priority = {2}, title = {Bicoid cooperative DNA binding is critical for embryonic patterning in Drosophila.}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0506462102}, volume = {102}, year = {2005} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2647534 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2647534 TI - Bicoid cooperative DNA binding is critical for embryonic patterning in Drosophila. JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America VL - 102 IS - 37 SP - 13176 EP - 13181 AD - Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 120 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208, USA. SN - 0027-8424 N2 - Cooperative interactions by DNA-binding proteins have been implicated in cell-fate decisions in a variety of organisms. To date, however, there are few examples in which the importance of such interactions has been explicitly tested in vivo. Here, we tested the importance of cooperative DNA binding by the Bicoid protein in establishing a pattern along the anterior-posterior axis of the early Drosophila embryo. We found that bicoid mutants specifically defective in cooperative DNA binding fail to direct proper development of the head and thorax, leading to embryonic lethality. The mutants did not faithfully stimulate transcription of downstream target genes such as hunchback (hb), giant, and Krüppel. Quantitative analysis of gene expression in vivo indicated that bcd cooperativity mutants were unable to accurately direct the extent to which hb is expressed along the anterior-posterior axis and displayed a reduced ability to generate sharp on/off transitions for hb gene expression. These failures in precise transcriptional control demonstrate the importance of cooperative DNA binding for embryonic patterning in vivo. KW - cooperative_binding AU - Lebrecht, D AU - Foehr, M AU - Smith, E AU - Lopes, FJ AU - Vanario-Alonso, CE AU - Reinitz, J AU - Burz, DS AU - Hanes, SD PY - 2005/09/13/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0506462102 ER -