How might the Lmo genes regulate behavioral responses to ethanol? dLmo and Lmo3 are expressed in several brain regions in flies and in mice. Gross abnormalities in the brain have not been observed in either dLmo mutant flies, the shLmo3 transgenic mice described here, or Lmo3 knockout mice, which are viable, fertile, and exhibit normal organ development (Tsai et al., 2004; Tse et al., 2004). dLMO and LMO3 are members of the LIM-only family of proteins, whose function is to modulate transcription by binding to DNA-binding proteins through their 2 tandem LIM domains (Kadrmas and Beckerle, 2004). In vertebrates, LMO proteins are thought to play important roles in specifying cell fate, particularly in the developing nervous system (Bulchand et al., 2003; Joshi et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2008; Remedios et al., 2004). One possibility is that LMO3 affects the patterning of specific brain structures during development, such as the cortex or amygdala (Bulchand et al., 2003; Remedios et al., 2004), through its ability to regulate transcription. Subtle changes in patterning during development might later affect behavioral responses to ethanol
