CNS MIDLINE ENHANCERS OF THE DROSOPHILA-SLIT AND TOLL GENES

The Drosophila CNS midline cells comprise a small, well-characterized group of neurons and glia in which the transcriptional control of CNS development can be studied. Using germ-line transformation of lacZ fusion constructs, we have dissected putative regulatory regions of the slit and Toll genes to identify CNS midline-restricted transcriptional enhancers. This analysis has uncovered DNA regions able to drive lacZ expression in most tissues in which embryonic slit and Toll are expressed, including three separable CNS midline-conferring regions: one in the Toll gene which is expressed early in all of the CNS midline precursors, and two in the slit gene which are expressed later in the midline glia (MG).