vasa is expressed in somatic cells of the embryonic gonad in a sex-specific manner in Drosophila melanogaster

Autor: Andrew D. Renault
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biology Open, Vol 1, Iss 10, Pp 1043-1048 (2012)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2046-6390
DOI: 10.1242/bio.20121909
Popis: Summary Vasa is a DEAD box helicase expressed in the Drosophila germline at all stages of development. vasa homologs are found widely in animals and vasa has become the gene of choice in identifying germ cells. I now show that Drosophila vasa expression is not restricted to the germline but is also expressed in a somatic lineage, the embryonic somatic gonadal precursor cells. This expression is sexually dimorphic, being maintained specifically in males, and is regulated post-transcriptionally. Although somatic Vasa expression is not required for gonad coalescence, these data support the notion that Vasa is not solely a germline factor.
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