Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Position-effect Variegation

Position-effect Variegation

In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.

Cell Specific Gene Expression

Cell Specific Gene Expression

Multicellular organisms contain a variety of structurally and functionally distinct cell types, but the DNA in all the cells originated from the same parent cells. The differences in the cells can be attributed to the differential gene expression. Liver cells, whose functions include detoxification of blood, production of bile to metabolize fats, and synthesis of proteins essential for metabolism, must express a specific set of genes to perform their functions. Gene expression also varies with...

Cis-regulatory Sequences

Cis-regulatory Sequences

Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...

Exon Recombination

Exon Recombination

The evolution of new genes is critical for speciation. Exon recombination, also known as exon shuffling or domain shuffling, is an important means of new gene formation. It is observed across vertebrates, invertebrates, and in some plants such as potatoes and sunflowers. During exon recombination, exons from the same or different genes recombine and produce new exon-intron combinations, which might evolve into new genes.
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...

Constitutive and Regulated Gene Expression

Constitutive and Regulated Gene Expression

Gene expression in prokaryotes is governed by constitutive and regulated systems, allowing cells to balance the production of essential proteins with adaptive responses to environmental changes.Constitutive Gene ExpressionConstitutive, or housekeeping, genes are continuously expressed as they encode proteins vital for fundamental cellular processes. These include enzymes for glycolysis, ribosomal components for protein synthesis, and proteins involved in DNA replication. Their constant...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

AP-1, but not NF-kappa B, is required for efficient steroid-triggered cell death in Drosophila.

Cell death and differentiation·2002

Same author

Molecular mechanisms of developmental timing in C. elegans and Drosophila.

Developmental cell·2001

Same author

Steroid-triggered death by autophagy.

BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology·2001

Same author

The ecdysone regulatory pathway controls wing morphogenesis and integrin expression during Drosophila metamorphosis.

Developmental biology·2001

Same author

An enhancer trap screen for ecdysone-inducible genes required for Drosophila adult leg morphogenesis.

Genetics·2000

Same author

Transcriptional activation of the Drosophila ecdysone receptor by insect and plant ecdysteroids.

Insect biochemistry and molecular biology·2000

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 22, 2026

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: April 14, 2017

Ecdysone-regulated puff genes 2000.

¹Department of Human Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah, Room 5100, 15 North 2030 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-5331, USA. carl.thummel@genetics.utah.edu

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

|January 5, 2002

Summary

The Ashburner model explains how steroid hormones regulate gene expression. New research on early and late genes like E63-1 and L63 confirms this model and reveals novel functions for ecdysone signaling in development.

More Related Videos

An Ecdysone Receptor-based Singular Gene Switch for Deliberate Expression of Transgene with Robustness, Reversibility, and Negligible Leakiness

An Ecdysone Receptor-based Singular Gene Switch for Deliberate Expression of Transgene with Robustness, Reversibility, and Negligible Leakiness

Published on: May 7, 2018

Long-term In Vivo Tracking of Inflammatory Cell Dynamics Within Drosophila Pupae

Long-term In Vivo Tracking of Inflammatory Cell Dynamics Within Drosophila Pupae

Published on: June 14, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 22, 2026

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: April 14, 2017

An Ecdysone Receptor-based Singular Gene Switch for Deliberate Expression of Transgene with Robustness, Reversibility, and Negligible Leakiness

An Ecdysone Receptor-based Singular Gene Switch for Deliberate Expression of Transgene with Robustness, Reversibility, and Negligible Leakiness

Published on: May 7, 2018

Long-term In Vivo Tracking of Inflammatory Cell Dynamics Within Drosophila Pupae

Long-term In Vivo Tracking of Inflammatory Cell Dynamics Within Drosophila Pupae

Published on: June 14, 2018

Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Developmental Biology
Genetics

Background:

The Ashburner model describes steroid hormone regulation of gene expression via polytene chromosome puffing.
20-hydroxyecdysone (ecdysone) is a key steroid hormone that triggers early regulatory genes, which then induce late target genes.

Purpose of the Study:

To review recent characterization of ecdysone-inducible genes.
To expand understanding of ecdysone signaling pathways and functions during development.

Main Methods:

Characterization of early puff genes (E63-1, E23) and late puff genes (D-spinophilin, L63, L82).
Overexpression studies of E63-1 and E23.
Genetic studies of L63 and L82.

Main Results:

E63-1 overexpression suggests a role in calcium-dependent salivary gland glue secretion.
E23 overexpression indicates it may negatively regulate ecdysone signaling as an ABC transporter.
Genetic studies of L63 and L82 suggest roles in developmental timing and growth.

Conclusions:

Recent findings provide further confirmation of the Ashburner model.
These studies reveal new insights into ecdysone's diverse functions in development, including gene regulation, hormone transport, and developmental timing.