Drosophila GAL4/GAL80ts System Diagram

It is a refinement of the GAL4/UAS binary expression system that adds temporal control. A GAL4 driver activates a UAS-linked transgene, and a temperature-sensitive GAL80ts protein represses GAL4 until the flies are shifted to a higher temperature, letting researchers turn target gene expression on at a chosen time.

GAL80ts is a temperature-sensitive version of the GAL80 repressor. At the permissive temperature (around 18°C) it binds GAL4 and blocks transcription of the UAS target; at the restrictive temperature (around 29°C) GAL80ts loses function, freeing GAL4 to activate the target gene.

Temperature acts as the switch. Keeping flies at the low permissive temperature keeps GAL80ts active and the target gene off; raising the temperature inactivates GAL80ts and switches the GAL4-driven target gene on, so expression is restricted to the time window the researcher chooses.

The plain GAL4/UAS system drives a target gene wherever the GAL4 driver is expressed, with no temporal control. Adding GAL80ts layers a temperature-dependent off switch on top, so expression can be confined to a specific developmental stage or time point rather than being constitutive.

You can generate a GAL4/GAL80ts diagram on SciFig: describe the driver, UAS target, and GAL80ts repression, and SciFig produces an editable figure of the system. You can then relabel each component and the temperature conditions and export it for a paper or slide.

Yes. After generating the diagram you can open it in SciFig's editor to vectorize it into clean SVG, relabel the GAL4 driver, UAS target, and GAL80ts repressor, adjust the permissive and restrictive temperatures, and export it in the format you need.