Development. 2019 May 20. [Epub ahead of print]
Sequence environment of BMP-dependent activating elements controls transcriptional responses to Dpp signaling in Drosophila
We present a cross-comparative analysis of three BMP responsive enhancers in two different Drosophila epithelial tissues. While all 3 enhancers are activated by BMP signaling in either tissue, transcriptional responses differ both quantitatively and qualitatively. We show that such differences do not stem from differences in the core BMP response elements but are rather mediated by DNA sequences in which such elements are embedded. The study provides insight in the integration of signaling and tissues-specific cues at cis-regulatory level.