Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Quantitative Comparison of cis-Regulatory Element (CRE) Activities in Transgenic Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: December 19, 2011
Comparison of homeobox-containing genes of the honeybee and Drosophila
U Walldorf1, R Fleig, W J Gehring
1Department of Cell Biology, University of Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We report the isolation of seven homeobox-containing genes from the honeybee (Apis mellifera). Sequence analysis of all homeoboxes and some flanking sequences showed that six of seven genes are more than 90% identical to their corresponding Drosophila homologues within the homeobox and, with one exception, also in the flanking sequences. The homologues that were identified include three homeotic selector genes [Sex combs reduced (Scr), Antennapedia (Antp), and abdominal-A (abd-A); the two engrailed (en) genes; and the muscle segment homeobox (msh)]. Surprisingly, no homologue of the segmentation gene fushi tarazu was found in the honeybee. For the remaining bee gene, a Drosophila homologue is not known. This indicates that, with some exceptions, structurally homologous genes are involved in the control of bee and Drosophila development, although Hymenoptera differ significantly in their embryogenesis from Diptera and have evolved separately for some 250 million years.
Related Concept Videos
Position-effect Variegation
Polytene Chromosomes
Cis-regulatory Sequences
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...

