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A molecular gradient in early Drosophila embryos and its role in specifying the body pattern

Nature volume 324, pages 537–545 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

After fertilization, the protein products of the Drosophila homeobox gene caudal (cad) accumulate in a concentration gradient spanning the anteroposterior axis of the developing embryo. Mutations in the cad gene that reduce or eliminate the gradient cause abnormal zygotic expression of at least one segmentation gene (fushi tarazu) and alter the global body pattern.

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Author notes

  1. Paul M. Macdonald & Gary Struhl

    Present address: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Neurobiology and Behaviour, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 722 West 168 Street, New York, New York, 10032

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard University, 7 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Paul M. Macdonald & Gary Struhl

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  1. Paul M. Macdonald
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Macdonald, P., Struhl, G. A molecular gradient in early Drosophila embryos and its role in specifying the body pattern. Nature 324, 537–545 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324537a0

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