Synthetic oligonucleotides recreate Drosophila fushi tarazu zebra-stripe expression

A complex array of activator and represser elements located within 669 bp proximal to the fushi tarazu (ftz) transcriptional start site is sufficient to generate the "zebra-stripe" expression pattern characteristic of the ftz gene. P-element-mediated transformation and ftz promoter/lacZ fusion genes were used to characterize, in detail, several of these transcriptional control elements. By reconstructing promoters with synthetic oligonucleotides containing cis-regulators of stripe expression, we show that these regulatory sites can function as independent units to direct position-specific transcription in the Drosophila embryo. In particular, we demonstrate that multiple copies of a positive regulatory site can mediate expression in both the odd- and even-numbered parasegments throughout most of the germ band and that negative regulatory sites can transform a continuous pattern of gene expression into discrete stripes. The reconstructed promoter system presented provides an effective means of studying molecular mechanisms governing spatially restricted transcription in the early embryo.