Project description:The orphan nuclear receptor Ftz-F1 is expressed in all somatic nuclei in Drosophila embryos but mutations result in a pair-rule phenotype. Previously characterized Ftz-F1 target genes were co-regulated by Ftz, which is expressed in stripes, consistent with the pair-rule phenotype observed for ftz-f1 and ftz mutants. However, attempts to identify new target genes on the basis of Ftz-F1 and Ftz binding sites alone has met with only limited success. To discern the rules for Ftz-F1 target site selection in vivo and to identify additional target genes, a microarray analysis was performed comparing wildtype and ftz-f1 mutant embryos.