Structure and regulation of the fushi tarazu gene from Drosophila hydei

The Drosophila melanogaster segmentation gene fushi tarazu (ftz) encodes a homeodomain-type transcription factor involved in the control of larval pattern formation. Loss of function mutations cause an embryonic lethal, pair-rule phenotype. The segmentation defects, but not the lethality, can be partially rescued by the ftz orthologue from Drosophila hydei. In this work, the primary structure, expression and regulation of the D. hydei ftz gene was characterized. Sequence comparisons classify ftz as a rather fast evolving gene. However, since the homeodomain of the D. hydei FTZ protein is highly similar to that of D. melanogaster, proper regulation of D. melanogaster ftz downstream genes would be expected. In D. melanogaster embryos, a D. hydei ftz transgene is expressed normally, independent of endogenous ftz gene activity, suggesting that D. hydei ftz regulatory sequences are correctly recognized by D. melanogaster transcription factors. Accordingly, lacZ fusion constructs driven by the D. hydei ftz upstream element are expressed normally in D. melanogaster embryos. Altogether, the similarities between the two ftz orthologues by far outweigh the differences. The limited success of the trans-species rescue might be, therefore, a consequence of the accumulation of too many subtle changes in gene function, exceeding the limits of developmental plasticity during fly embryogenesis.