AbdA Background Information
Drosophila melanogaster, a proven and effective model for studying developmental and cellular processes common to higher eukaryotes, contains a genome encoding approximately 13,600 genes, which were elucidated from more than 120 megabases of euchromatin (1). These genes are organized among chromosomes 2, 3, 4, X, and Y, with the Y chromosome being predominately heterochromatic (1). Drosophila genes, which are categorized based on the type of protein for which they encode, represent six major classifications, including intracellular signaling proteins, transmembrane proteins, RNA binding proteins, secreted factors, transcription regulators (basic helix-loop-helix, homeodomain containing, zinc finger containing, and chromatin associated), and other functional proteins (2). Morphogenesis and cell differentiation in Drosophila requires accurate control of cell division (3,4). The Hox/homeotic genes encode transcription factors that generate segmental diversity during Drosophila development (5). In Drosophila, the Ultrabithorax (Ubx) and abdominal A (AbdA, also abd-A) Hox proteins are expressed largely in the abdominal segments, where they suppress thoracic leg development during embryogenesis (6).
