PMID- 1900130
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19910402
LR  - 20190618
IS  - 0036-8075 (Print)
IS  - 0036-8075 (Linking)
VI  - 251
IP  - 4997
DP  - 1991 Mar 1
TI  - Molecular nature of the Drosophila sex determination signal and its link to 
      neurogenesis.
PG  - 1071-4
AB  - In 1921 it was discovered that the sexual fate of Drosophila is determined by the 
      ratio of X chromosomes to sets of autosomes. Only recently has it been found that 
      the X chromosome to autosome (X:A) ratio is communicated in part by the dose of 
      sisterless-b (sis-b), an X-linked genetic element located within the 
      achaete-scute complex of genes involved in neurogenesis. In this report, the 
      molecular nature of the primary sex determination signal and its relation to 
      these proneural genes was determined by analysis of sis-b+ germline 
      transformants. The sis-b+ function is confered by protein T4, a member of the 
      helix-loop-helix family of transcription factors. Although T4 is shared by sis-b 
      and scute-alpha, the regulatory regions of sis-b, which control T4 expression in 
      sex determination, are both separable from and simpler than those of scute-alpha, 
      which control T4 expression in neurogenesis. Dose-sensitive cooperative 
      interactions in the assembly or binding of sis-dependent transcription factors 
      may directly determine the activity of the female-specific promoter of 
      Sex-lethal, the master regulator of sexual development. In this model there is no 
      need to invoke the existence of analogous autosomal negative regulators of 
      Sex-lethal.
FAU - Erickson, J W
AU  - Erickson JW
AD  - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 
      94720.
FAU - Cline, T W
AU  - Cline TW
LA  - eng
GR  - GM 23468/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - United States
TA  - Science
JT  - Science (New York, N.Y.)
JID - 0404511
SB  - IM
GS  - Sxl
GS  - sis-a
GS  - sis-b
MH  - Animals
MH  - Animals, Genetically Modified
MH  - DNA Mutational Analysis
MH  - Dosage Compensation, Genetic
MH  - Drosophila melanogaster/*genetics
MH  - Female
MH  - Genes
MH  - Genes, Lethal
MH  - Male
MH  - *Nervous System Physiological Phenomena
MH  - Restriction Mapping
MH  - *Sex Determination Analysis
MH  - Transcription, Genetic
MH  - X Chromosome/physiology
EDAT- 1991/03/01 00:00
MHDA- 1991/03/01 00:01
CRDT- 1991/03/01 00:00
PHST- 1991/03/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1991/03/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1991/03/01 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1126/science.1900130 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Science. 1991 Mar 1;251(4997):1071-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1900130.