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A monoclonal antibody study of the development of the drosophila retina
Author(s) -
Benzer S.,
Zipursky S.L.,
Venkatesh T.R.,
Fujita S.C.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/0736-5748(83)90215-0
Subject(s) - fujita scale , library science , biology , physics , computer science , meteorology
We have postulated that the catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine B-hydroxylase (DBH) and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT)may be coded for by similar gene coding sequence(s). In order to analyze the structural relationship of genes coding for these enzymes, we have cloned DNAs complementary to DBHand PNMT-mRNAs. Using hybrid selection analysis to positively identify the cDNA clones, we discovered cross-hybridization between DBH cDNA clones and PNMT mRNA and between PNMT cDNA clones and DBH mRNA. Southern blot hybridization analysis demonstrated that DBH and PNMT cDNA probes hybridized to several common restriction fragments in total cellular DNA. These results provide strong evidence that regions of homology exist in the genes coding for DBH and PNMT, and suggest that these catecholamine enzymes may be coded for by genes which are members of a linked catecholamine enzyme gene family. However, phenotypic expression of these enzymes in the central and peripheral catecholamine neurons during development and in the adult rat brain is not always coordinated. Thus, TH appears transiently in cells of several peripheral organs, while in adult rat brain, some neurons contain PNMT but not TH or DBH. These observations lead us to believe that although the genes are probably linked, there are separate control mechanisms for the gene expression and regulation of these enzymes.