Gooseberry (gsb) is a segment polarity gene located on chromosome 2 of the Drosophila (fruit fly) genome.

15 candidate genes were found to affect this developmental process, and were subsequently classified into 3 different categories: segment-polarity, pair-rule, and gap.

[9] This was determined by in situ hybridization gsb mRNA with a purple probe, allowing visualization of the gene expression.

[3] This implies that gooseberry is one of the cell fate determination genes promoted by β-catenin, and that its protein production is reliant on Wg for WSDC inhibition.

[19] PAX3 variants are linked to type I & III WS, likely due to the gene's important role in the development of melanocytes.

[21] Considering this knowledge, it is believed that the mechanism underlying WS phenotypes involves altered DNA binding in PAX3 variants.

Transgenic fruit flies, whose genomes have been altered via genetic engineering, were studied and have implicated the known proliferation pathway Ras in the disease.

[23][24] Additionally, PAX7 and gooseberry have been found to show similar segmented expression during neural development, suggesting links to rhabdomyosarcoma metastasis into the CNS.