High impact information on rhi

• Here we describe our analyses of Rhino, a novel member of the Heterochromatin Protein 1(HP1) subfamily of chromo box proteins. rhino (rhi) is expressed only in females and chiefly in the germline, thus providing a new tool to dissect the role of chromo-domain proteins in development [1].
• Mutations in rhi disrupt eggshell and embryonic patterning and arrest nurse cell nuclei during a stage-specific reorganization of their polyploid chromosomes, a mitotic-like state called the "five-blob" stage [1].
• Three of these paralogs have ubiquitous expression patterns in adult Drosophila tissues, whereas HP1D/rhino and HP1E are expressed predominantly in ovaries and testes respectively [2].

References