On our chromosomal walk to clone the
Antennapedia gene, Richard Garber and Atsushi Kuroiwa also cloned the segmentation gene
fushi tarazu (
ftz). Ernst Hafen and Michael Levine had concurrently developed an in situ hybridization method to tissue sections. Garber joined forces with Hafen to hybridize
ftz recombinant DNA to wild-type embryos in order to localize the ftz
+ transcripts. A few weeks later, I was seated at my desk when Hafen and Kuroiwa burst into my office and asked me to come to the microscope. I shall never forget that moment when I first saw the seven stripes across the blastoderm. The body plan was really "painted onto the embryo." It was one of the most rewarding moments in a scientist's life.
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