D
IPR013851

Transcription factor Otx, C-terminal

InterPro entry
Short nameOtx_TF_C

Description

Otx proteins constitute a class of vertebrate homeodomain-containing transcription factors that have been shown to be essential for anterior head formation, including brain morphogenesis. They are orthologous to the product of the Drosophila head gap gene, orthodenticle (Otd), and appear to play similar roles in both, since the developmental abnormalities caused by disruption of these transcription factors in one, can be recovered by substitution of the factor(s) from the other. Such studies have provided strong evidence that there exists a conserved genetic programme for insect and mammalian brain development, which presumably arose in a more primitive common ancestor
[1, 2]
.

Two vertebrate orthodenticle-related transcription factors have been indentified, Otx1 and Otx2, which have sizes of 355 and 289 residues respectively. They contain a bicoid-like homeodomain, which features a conserved lysine residue at position 9 of the DNA recognition helix, which is thought to confer high-affinity binding to TAATCC/T elements on DNA
[3]
. Otd-like transcription factors have also been found in zebrafish and certain lamprey species.

References

1.The TINS Lecture. Understanding the roles of Otx1 and Otx2 in the control of brain morphogenesis. Acampora D, Simeone A. Trends Neurosci. 22, 116-22, (1999). View articlePMID: 10199636

2.Conserved genetic programs in insect and mammalian brain development. Hirth F, Reichert H. Bioessays 21, 677-84, (1999). View articlePMID: 10440864

3.Function and evolution of Otx proteins. Klein WH, Li X. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 258, 229-33, (1999). View articlePMID: 10375352

GO terms

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