Transcriptional interpretation of the EGF receptor signaling gradient. Author Alisa Fuchs, Lily Cheung, Enrica Charbonnier, Stanislav Shvartsman, George Pyrowolakis Publication Year 2012 Type Journal Article Abstract Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) controls a wide range of developmental events, from body axes specification in insects to cardiac development in humans. During Drosophila oogenesis, a gradient of EGFR activation patterns the follicular epithelium. Multiple transcriptional targets of EGFR in this tissue have been identified, but their regulatory elements are essentially unknown. We report the regulatory elements of broad (br) and pipe (pip), two important targets of EGFR signaling in Drosophila oogenesis. br is expressed in a complex pattern that prefigures the formation of respiratory eggshell appendages. We found that this pattern is generated by dynamic activities of two regulatory elements, which display different responses to Pointed, Capicua, and Mirror, transcription factors involved in the EGFR-mediated gene expression. One of these elements is active in a pattern similar to pip, a gene repressed by EGFR and essential for establishing the dorsoventral polarity of the embryo. We demonstrate that this similarity of expression depends on a common sequence motif that binds Mirror in vitro and is essential for transcriptional repression in vivo. Keywords Animals, Drosophila, Signal Transduction, Base Sequence, Gene Expression Regulation, Transcription, Genetic, Oogenesis, DNA, Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Volume 109 Issue 5 Pages 1572-7 Date Published 01/2012 Alternate Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Google ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML