The Human Transcription Enhancer Factor-1, TEF-1, Can Substitute for Drosophila scalloped during Wingblade Development*
- Nirupama Deshpande,
- Abha Chopra‡,
- Annapoorni Rangarajan,
- L. S. Shashidhara§,
- Veronica Rodriguesঠand
- Sudhir Krishna‖
- From the National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR Center, Bangalore 560012, India and the ‡Molecular Biology Unit, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay 400005, India
Abstract
The human transcriptionenhancer factor-1 (TEF-1) belongs to a family of evolutionarily conserved proteins that have a DNA binding TEA domain. TEF-1 shares a 98% homology with Drosophila scalloped (sd) in the DNA binding domain and a 50% similarity in the activation domain. We have expressed human TEF-1 inDrosophila under the hsp-70 promoter and find that it can substitute for Sd function. The transformants rescue the wingblade defects as well as the lethality of loss-of-function alleles. Observation of reporter activity in the imaginal wing discs of the enhancer-trap alleles suggests that TEF-1 is capable of promotingsd gene regulation. The functional capability of the TEF-1 product was assessed by comparing the extent of rescue by heat shock (hs)-TEF-1 with that of hs-sd. The finding that TEF-1 can function in vivo during wingblade development offers a potent genetic system for the analysis of its function and in the identification of the molecular partners of TEF-1.
Footnotes
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↵* This work was supported in part by a grant from the Human Science Frontiers Program and the Department of Science of Technology, Government of India (to V. R.).The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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↵§ Present address: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India.
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↵¶ To whom correspondence should be addressed: Molecular Biology Unit, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Rd., Bombay 400005, India. Tel.: 91-22-2152971; Fax: 91-22-2152110; E-mail: Veronica{at}tifrvax.tifr.res.in.
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↵‖ Recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation biotechnology career fellowship award.
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↵1 The abbreviations used are: TEF-1,transcription enhancer factor-1; TIF, transcriptional intermediary factor; kb, kilobase(s); X-gal, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl β-d-galactopyranoside; hs, heat shock.
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↵2 A. Chopra, unpublished data.
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↵3 M. Inamdar, unpublished data.
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- Received December 3, 1996.
- Revision received January 29, 1997.
