The Drosophila blastoderm and the vertebrate neural tube are archetypal examples of
morphogen-patterned tissues that create precise spatial patterns of different cell types. In …

Morphogens are long-range signaling molecules that pattern developing tissues in a
concentration-dependent manner. The graded activity of morphogens within tissues …

Chromatin accessibility is integral to the process by which transcription factors (TFs) read out
cis-regulatory DNA sequences, but it is difficult to differentiate between TFs that drive …

Gap genes are involved in segment determination during the early development of the fruit
fly Drosophila melanogaster as well as in other insects. This review attempts to synthesize …

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling pathways control multiple cellular decisions in
metazoans, often by regulating the expression of downstream genes. In Drosophila …

Localization of an mRNA species to a particular subcellular region can complement
translational control mechanisms to produce a restricted spatial distribution of the protein it …

The homeodomain (HD) protein Bicoid (Bcd) is thought to function as a gradient morphogen
that positions boundaries of target genes via threshold-dependent activation mechanisms …

Key discoveries in Drosophila have shaped our understanding of cellular “enhancers.” With
a special focus on the fly, this chapter surveys properties of these adaptable cis-regulatory …

In Drosophila, graded expression of the maternal transcription factor Bicoid (Bcd) provides
positional information to activate target genes at different positions along the anterior …

Patterning of body parts in multicellular organisms relies on the interpretation of transcription
factor (TF) concentrations by genetic networks. To determine the extent by which absolute …