The proboscipedia locus of the Antennapedia complex: a molecular and genetic analysis

The homeotic proboscipedia (pb) locus of the Antennapedia Complex (ANT-C) directs the differentiation of adult labial and maxillary structures. Loss-of-function pb alleles show a transformation of adult mouth parts to legs and affect maxillary palp morphology. We have identified the pb transcription unit by inducing and analyzing a series of pb null chromosomal breakpoints. In addition, we describe a variegating pb phenotype associated with two rearrangement breakpoints. Having identified the pb locus, we describe the expression of its RNA and protein products. Unlike the other homeotic genes of the ANT-C, pb has no obvious role in embryonic development. Nevertheless, pb protein is detected during embryogenesis in nuclei of the labial and maxillary lobes and in part of the mandibular segment. In this respect, pb expression parallels the early segment-specific expression of neighboring, embryonically essential homeotic genes. Accumulation of pb protein is also detected in mesodermal cells and in a unique subset of nuclei throughout the central nervous system. We also describe a transcription unit very close to pb, which is expressed dorsally during embryogenesis in a pattern resembling that of the nearby zygotic lethal zerknüllt (zen) locus. This transcription unit has been shown to contain a homeo box and has been designated z2. Surprisingly, we find that individuals deleted for both the pb and z2 transcription units survive to adulthood and produce normal larval cuticular structures. Thus, pb and z2 show similarities to neighboring ANT-C genes in their expression patterns, yet these similarities are not manifested in comparable loss-of-function embryonic phenotypes.