The Drosophila homology of the mouse mammary oncogene int-1 is identical to the segment polarity gene wingless

We have isolated the Drosophila melanogaster homolog (Dint-1) of int-1, a conserved cellular oncogene implicated in viral mammary tumorigenesis in mice. The deduced Dint-1 protein sequence contains 468 amino acids and starts with a hydrophobic leader; it is 54% identical to the int-1 sequence, and all 23 cysteine residues are conserved. The putative Drosophila protein has an extra sequence of 85 amino acids, encoded on an additional exon. Dint-1 is expressed throughout development, but transcripts are barely detectable in adult flies. Hybridization in situ to embryos reveals a segmented pattern of expression. We show that Dint-1 and the segment polarity gene wingless are identical and map to the same location. The sequence of the gene suggests that the Dint-1/wingless protein functions in morphogenesis as a signal in cell-cell communication.