Diverse expression of overlapping genes: the Drosophila Eip28/29 gene and its upstream neighbors

The Eip28/29 gene of Drosophila is known to be regulated by the steroid hormone ecdysone in Kc cells and other cell lines. An investigation of Eip28/29 gene expression in intact animals has led to the discovery of two new genes on its 5' flank. Together these three genes generate at least seven distinct transcripts with diverse patterns of developmental expression. gonadal (gdl) is transcribed on the same strand as Eip28/29 and is expressed in two modes. gdlM transcripts, observed exclusively in the testes, are 1200 and 1500 N long, differing by their polyadenylation site but probably otherwise identical; gdlF transcripts are 900 and 1200 N long and share their terminal exons with the two gdlM transcripts. In adults they are exclusively ovarian, but they are also present in early embryos and, at a lower abundance, in Kc cells. In each mode, the longer transcript results from use of a polyadenylation site within the 5' exon of Eip28/29. The shared region includes 3' noncoding sequences of gdl transcripts and 5' flanking DNA and 5' noncoding sequences of Eip28/29. gdl expression in Kc cells is, however, unaffected by ecdysone. z600 is more distal to Eip28/29 but still contained at least in part within the 2 kb upstream of that gene. Its 600 N transcript is expressed predominantly during the first few hours of embryogenesis. Finally, the Eip28/29 transcripts are present at low levels during most developmental stages.