Cell type-specific regulation of the Drosophila FMRF-NH2 neuropeptide gene by Apterous, a LIM homeodomain transcription factor.

We describe the direct and cell-specific regulation of the Drosophila FMRFa neuropeptide gene by Apterous, a LIM homeodomain transcription factor. dFMRFa and Apterous are expressed in partially overlapping subsets of neurons, including two of the seventeen dFMRFa cell types, the Tv neuroendocrine cells and the SP2 interneurons. Apterous contributes to the initiation of dFMRFa expression in Tv neurons, but not in those dFMRFa neurons that do not express Apterous. Apterous is not required for Tv neuron survival or morphological differentiation. Apterous contributes to the maintenance of dFMRFa expression by postembryonic Tv neurons, although the strength of its regulation is diminished. Apterous regulation of dFMRFa expression includes direct mechanisms, although ectopic Apterous does not induce ectopic dFMRFa. These findings show that, for a subset of neurons that share a common neurotransmitter phenotype, the Apterous LIM homeoprotein helps define neurotransmitter expression with very limited effects on other aspects of differentiation.