Complete sequence of the bithorax complex of Drosophila

The bithorax complex (BX-C) of Drosophila, one of two complexes that act as master regulators of the body plan of the fly, is included within a sequence of 338,234 bp (SEQ89E). This paper presents the strategy used in sequencing SEQ89E and an analysis of its open reading frames. The BX-C sequence (BXCALL) contains 314,895 bp obtained by deletion of putative genes that are located at each end of SEQ89E and appear to be functionally unrelated to the BX-C. Only 1.4% of BXCALL codes for the three homeodomain-containing proteins of the complex. Principal findings include a putative ABD-A protein (ABD-AII) larger than a previously known ABD-A protein and a putative glucose transporter-like gene (1521 bp) located at or near the bithoraxoid (bxd), infra-abdominal-2 (iab-2) boundary on the opposite strand relative to that of the homeobox-containing genes.