A conserved activation element in BMP signaling during Drosophila development

13.12.2009

Weiss A, Charbonnier E, Ellertsdóttir E, Tsirigos A, Wolf C, Schuh R, Pyrowolakis G, Affolter M.

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 17(1):69-76

Nat Struct Mol Biol       online article

Ligands of the BMP superfamily activate an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway that regulates gene expression in signal-receiving cells. In this study we define DNA response elements that are able to differentiate between BMP-induced transcriptional activation and transcriptional repression in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. These motifs are active throughout development to direct complementary expression patterns and can be exploited in bioinformatics-based approaches for de novo identification of BMP target genes.