Genomic regions regulating early embryonic expression of the Drosophila neurogenic gene Delta.

To identify genomic regions required for transcriptional regulation of Delta during early embryogenesis, constructs carrying promoter and gene fusions to the lacZ gene were used for germ line transformation. Most cis-regulatory sequences are dispersed throughout 6.6 kb of genomic DNA, 5' of the transcription start site; the first intron contains an enhancer element that increases the amount of RNA produced in several organs. A region was defined which drives Delta-lacZ RNA expression in clusters of neuroectodermal cells preceding and during SI neuroblast segregation. This pattern is regulated by genes of the AS-C (achaete-scute complex). To identify regulatory regions necessary for normal function of Delta during neural-epidermal lineage segregation, five minigenes consisting of fragments of the 5' genomic DNA fused to a cDNA encoding the entire protein sequence were tested for their ability to rescue the neural hyperplasia caused by a deletion of the Delta locus. Regulatory sequences required for this function are differentially distributed throughout 9 kb of genomic DNA upstream of the transcription start site. The possible significance of these findings with respect to the function of Delta during lineage segregation is discussed.