Comparison of the neuralized genes of Drosophila virilis and D. melanogaster

The neurogenic gene neuralized of Drosophila melanogaster is thought to play a role in the determination of cell fate in the embryonic nervous system as well as other tissues during development. To determine which sequences within the neuralized gene encode functionally important domains, we have initiated an interspecific comparison of the neuralized gene of D. virilis and D. melanogaster. In this study we show that several motifs that we have previously identified in the neuralized protein of D. melanogaster are conserved in D. virilis. These include a putative nuclear localization signal, a homeodomain similarity region, and a zinc finger motif. In contrast, a helix-turn-helix motif with structural similarity to those identified as DNA-binding regions of bacterial repressors is deleted. These results demonstrate that it is possible to identify key functional regions of the neuralized protein by an interspecific comparison.