Sequences isolated from a Drosophila early-ecdysone puff are expressed in rat liver

We have studied the presence of a cloned fragment of DNA from Drosophila melanogaster in other organisms by means of nucleic acid hybridization analysis. The isolated region is localized in polytene chromosomes at the 63F subdivision. This region includes a puff that responds within minutes to ecdysone stimulation. We have found that 63F DNA from D. melanogaster hybridizes 'in situ' to both DNA and RNA from D. simulans, D. teissieri, and D. hydei. In all these species the isolated DNA remains associated with one early-ecdysone stimulated puff. The isolated Drosophila recombinant DNA is also complementary to polyadenylated RNA from foetal and adult rat liver but fails to hybridize to the nonpolyadenylated RNA classes from both sources and to polyadenylated RNA from rat mammary glands.