A Pair-Rule Gene in Drosophila Called Runt Controls Some of Sex

Multiple Choice

A pair-rule gene in Drosophila called runt controls some of sex and nervous system formation. In the mouse, runt controls blood cell formation, osteogenesis, and genital structures. In humans, the analog of runt, when mutated, causes children to lack collar bones, and the opening at the top of the skull fails to close. What kind of experiment could tell you whether these genes are conserved in function?

A) sequencing of the runt genes from each of the three species of organisms
B) in vivo experiment that inserts a copy of the mouse runt gene into a segmented fly embryo
C) in vitro experiment that inserts a copy of the mouse runt gene into cells from an unsegmented Drosophila embryo
D) sequencing the proteins encoded for by each of the species' runt genes
E) use of immunological methods to identify the target cells of the species' runt transcription factors