Identification of a Stat gene that functions in Drosophila development

Riqiang Yan, Stephen Small, Claude Desplan, Charles R. Dearolf, James E. Darnell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A Drosophila Stat gene (D-Stat) with a zygotic segmental expression pattern was identified. This protein becomes phosphorylated on Tyr-704 when coexpressed in Schneider cells with a Drosophila Janus kinase (JAK), Hopscotch (HOP). The phosphorylated protein binds specifically to the consensus sequence TTCCCGGAA. Suppressor mutations of hop(Tum-1), a dominant hyperactive allele of hop whose phenotype is hematocyte overproduction and tumor formation, were selected. One of these mutants, stat(HJ), mapped to the same chromosomal region (92E) as does D-Stat, had an incompletely penetrant pair rule phenotype, and exhibited aberrant expression of the pair rule gene even skipped (eve) at the cellular blastoderm stage. Two D-STAT-binding sites were identified within the eve stripe 3 enhancer region. Mutations in either of the STAT-binding sites greatly decreased the stripe 3 expression in transgenic flies. Clearly, the JAK-STAT pathway is connected to Drosophila early development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)421-430
Number of pages10
JournalCell
Volume84
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 9 1996

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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