Modelling and calibration of pair-rule protein patterns in Drosophila embryo: From Even-skipped and Fushi-tarazu to Wingless expression networks

• Published in: Developmental biology 2025-01, Vol.517, p.178-190
• Main Authors: Dias, Catarina, Dilão, Rui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Body Patterning - genetics; Calibration; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Drosophila - embryology; Drosophila - genetics; Drosophila - metabolism; Drosophila melanogaster early development; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; Drosophila Proteins - metabolism; Embryo, Nonmammalian - metabolism; Enhancer Elements, Genetic - genetics; Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors - genetics; Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors - metabolism; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Gene Regulatory Networks; Genetic segmentation network; Homeodomain Proteins - genetics; Homeodomain Proteins - metabolism; Segment-polarity protein regulators; Stripe enhancers of Eve and ftz; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Wnt1 Protein - genetics; Wnt1 Protein - metabolism
• ISSN: 0012-1606; 1095-564X; 1095-564X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.09.015

We modelled and calibrated the distributions of the seven-stripe patterns of Even-skipped (Eve) and Fushi-tarazu (Ftz) pair-rule proteins along the anteroposterior axis of the Drosphila embryo, established during early development. We have identified the putative repressive combinations for five Eve enhancers, and we have explored the relationship between Eve and Ftz for complementary patterns. The regulators of Eve and Ftz are stripe-specific DNA enhancers with embryo position-dependent activation rates and are regulated by the gap family of proteins. We achieved remarkable data matching of the Eve stripe pattern, and the calibrated model reproduces gap gene mutation experiments. Extended work inferring the Wingless (Wg) fourteen stripe pattern from Eve and Ftz enhancers have been proposed, clarifying the hierarchical structure of Drosphila's genetic expression network during early development. [Display omitted] •We modelled seven stripe-specific enhancers for eve with the mass-action law describing transcriptional regulation.•We identified two gap repressive combinations driving ftz enhancers achieving Ftz's pattern, except stripe 4.•We model the fourteen-stripe pattern of Wingless from Eve and Ftz repressive transcription factors.