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Updated: May 18, 2026

Mapping and Application of Enhancer-trap Flippase Expression in Larval and Adult Drosophila CNS
Published on: June 3, 2011
Combinatorial control of temporal gene expression in the Drosophila wing by enhancers and core promoters
David D O'Keefe1, Sean R Thomas, Kelsey Bolin
1Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Background:
The transformation of a developing epithelium into an adult structure is a complex process, which often involves coordinated changes in cell proliferation, metabolism, adhesion, and shape. To identify genetic mechanisms that control epithelial differentiation, we analyzed the temporal patterns of gene expression during metamorphosis of the Drosophila wing.
Results:
We found that a striking number of genes, approximately 50% of the Drosophila transcriptome, exhibited changes in expression during a time course of wing development. While cis-acting enhancer sequences clearly correlated with these changes, a stronger correlation was discovered between core-promoter types and the dynamic patterns of gene expression within this differentiating tissue. In support of the hypothesis that core-promoter type influences the dynamics of expression, expression levels of several TATA-box binding protein associated factors (TAFs) and other core promoter-associated components changed during this developmental time course, and a testes-specific TAF (tTAF) played a critical role in timing cellular differentiation within the wing.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that the combinatorial control of gene expression via cis-acting enhancer sequences and core-promoter types, determine the complex changes in gene expression that drive morphogenesis and terminal differentiation of the Drosophila wing epithelium.
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