The ''achaete-scute'' complex (''AS-C'') is a group of four genes (''achaete'', ''scute'', ''lethal of scute'', and ''asense'') in the fruit fly ''

Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...

''. These genes encode

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transcription factors In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fun ...

that have been best studied in their regulation of nervous system development. Because of their role in specifying neuroblast fate, the genes of the ''AS-C'' are called proneural genes. However, the ''AS-C'' has non-proneural functions, such as specifying muscle and gut progenitors. Homologues of ''AS-C'' in other animals, including humans and other vertebrates, have similar functions. Genes of the ''AS-C'' interact with the Notch pathway in both their proneural functions as well as their specification of gut and muscle cells.

Genetic structure

The complex is found near the tip of the X chromosome, just 3' of ''yellow'', in chromosome bands 1A6 through 1B3. It occupies around 93 kb of the genome, with all four genes oriented in the same direction.

''achaete''

The 5′-most gene of the achaete-scute complex, ''achaete'' (short form ''ac''), is a small gene of less than 1000 bp. The Achaete protein is 201

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

s long and has a relative size of 23 kDa. As with most classically described ''Drosophila'' genes, ''achaete'' is named for its mutant phenotype, which is the lack of sensory hairs (macrochaetae and microchaetae) on the back of the adult fly. Achaete functions to specify sensory hair cell fate. It functions downstream of other genes, including ''hairy'' and ''extramacrochaete,'' that set up fields of cells that may express ''achaete''.

''scute''

''Scute'' (short form ''sc'') is found in about 25 kb (3)′ of ''achaete''. It is a 1.45 kb gene encoding a 345 aa protein of 38.2 kDa.

''lethal or scute''

''lethal or scute'' (short form ''l(1)sc'') is found about 12 kb 3′ of ''scute''. It is a 1.1 kb gene encoding a 257 aa protein of 29 kDa.

''asense''

''asense'' (short form ''ase'') found 45 kb 3′ of ''l(1)sc''. It is a 2.8 kb gene encoding a 486 aa protein of 53.2 kDa.

References