Characterization of the transvection mediating region of the abdominal-B locus in Drosophila

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (14) ◽  
pp. 3057-3065 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zhou ◽  
H. Ashe ◽  
C. Burks ◽  
M. Levine

Genetic studies have identified an unusual transvection process in the Abdominal-B (Abd-B) locus of Drosophila. In some cases distal infraabdominal (iab) regulatory domains continue to activate the Abd-B promoter even when translocated onto different chromosomes. Transvection depends on an approx. 10 kb genomic DNA sequence, termed the transvection mediating region (tmr), located immediately downstream of the Abd-B transcription unit. Here we report a detailed analysis of this region. Different DNA fragments from the tmr were inserted into a variety of P-transformation vectors. Analyses of reporter gene expression in transgenic embryos and adults identify at least three cis-regulatory elements, including two enhancers (IAB7 and IAB8) and a new insulator DNA (Frontabdominal-8, Fab-8). Evidence is also presented for a Polycomb Response Element (PRE) linked to the IAB8 enhancer, and an internal promoter in the iab-8 domain, which transcribes the iab-7 and iab-8 cis-regulatory DNA, including the Fab-8 insulator. We discuss the significance of these findings with regard to Abd-B transvection and long-range enhancer-promoter interactions in mammalian globin loci.

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (11) ◽  
pp. 2527-2538 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fujioka ◽  
Y. Emi-Sarker ◽  
G.L. Yusibova ◽  
T. Goto ◽  
J.B. Jaynes

The entire functional even-skipped locus of Drosophila melanogaster is contained within a 16 kilobase region. As a transgene, this region is capable of rescuing even-skipped mutant flies to fertile adulthood. Detailed analysis of the 7.7 kb of regulatory DNA 3′ of the transcription unit revealed ten novel, independently regulated patterns. Most of these patterns are driven by non-overlapping regulatory elements, including ones for syncytial blastoderm stage stripes 1 and 5, while a single element specifies both stripes 4 and 6. Expression analysis in gap gene mutants showed that stripe 5 is restricted anteriorly by Kruppel and posteriorly by giant, the same repressors that regulate stripe 2. Consistent with the coregulation of stripes 4 and 6 by a single cis-element, both the anterior border of stripe 4 and the posterior border of stripe 6 are set by zygotic hunchback, and the region between the two stripes is ‘carved out’ by knirps. Thus the boundaries of stripes 4 and 6 are set through negative regulation by the same gap gene domains that regulate stripes 3 and 7 (Small, S., Blair, A. and Levine, M. (1996) Dev. Biol. 175, 314–24), but at different concentrations. The 3′ region also contains a single element for neurogenic expression in ganglion mother cells 4–2a and 1–1a, and neurons derived from them (RP2, a/pCC), suggesting common regulators in these lineages. In contrast, separable elements were found for expression in EL neurons, U/CQ neurons and the mesoderm. The even-skipped 3′ untranslated region is required to maintain late stage protein expression in RP2 and a/pCC neurons, and appears to affect protein levels rather than mRNA levels. Additionally, a strong pairing-sensitive repression element was localized to the 3′ end of the locus, but was not found to contribute to efficient functional rescue.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Zengzhi Si ◽  
Yake Qiao ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Zhixin Ji ◽  
Jinling Han

Sweetpotato, <i>Ipomoea batatas</i> (L.) Lam., is an important and widely grown crop, yet its production is affected severely by biotic and abiotic stresses. The nucleotide binding site (NBS)-encoding genes have been shown to improve stress tolerance in several plant species. However, the characterization of NBS-encoding genes in sweetpotato is not well-documented to date. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of NBS-encoding genes has been conducted on this species by using bioinformatics and molecular biology methods. A total of 315 NBS-encoding genes were identified, and 260 of them contained all essential conserved domains while 55 genes were truncated. Based on domain architectures, the 260 NBS-encoding genes were grouped into 6 distinct categories. Phylogenetic analysis grouped these genes into 3 classes: TIR, CC (I), and CC (II). Chromosome location analysis revealed that the distribution of NBS-encoding genes in chromosomes was uneven, with a number ranging from 1 to 34. Multiple stress-related regulatory elements were detected in the promoters, and the NBS-encoding genes’ expression profiles under biotic and abiotic stresses were obtained. According to the bioinformatics analysis, 9 genes were selected for RT-qPCR analysis. The results revealed that <i>IbNBS75</i>, <i>IbNBS219</i>, and <i>IbNBS256</i> respond to stem nematode infection; <i>Ib­NBS240</i>, <i>IbNBS90</i>, and <i>IbNBS80</i> respond to cold stress, while <i>IbNBS208</i>, <i>IbNBS71</i>, and <i>IbNBS159</i> respond to 30% PEG treatment. We hope these results will provide new insights into the evolution of NBS-encoding genes in the sweetpotato genome and contribute to the molecular breeding of sweetpotato in the future.


1993 ◽  
Vol 296 (3) ◽  
pp. 663-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
M F Wilkemeyer ◽  
E R Andrews ◽  
F D Ledley

Methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MCM) is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial matrix enzyme. We have reported characterization of murine MCM and cloning of a murine MCM cDNA and now describe the murine Mut locus, its promoter and evidence for tissue-specific variation in MCM mRNA, enzyme and holo-enzyme levels. The Mut locus spans 30 kb and contains 13 exons constituting a unique transcription unit. A B1 repeat element was found in the 3′ untranslated region (exon 13). The transcription initiation site was identified and upstream sequences were shown to direct expression of a reporter gene in cultured cells. The promoter contains sequence motifs characteristic of: (1) TATA-less housekeeping promoters; (2) enhancer elements purportedly involved in co-ordinating expression of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins; and (3) regulatory elements including CCAAT boxes, cyclic AMP-response elements and potential AP-2-binding sites. Northern blots demonstrate a greater than 10-fold variation in steady-state mRNA levels, which correlate with tissue levels of enzyme activity. However, the ratio of holoenzyme to total enzyme varies among different tissues, and there is no correlation between steady-state mRNA levels and holoenzyme activity. These results suggest that, although there may be regulation of MCM activity at the level of mRNA, the significance of genetic regulation is unclear owning to the presence of epigenetic regulation of holoenzyme formation.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (6) ◽  
pp. 3444-3452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen D. Cooper ◽  
Jean Chen ◽  
Mary Jane Botelho-Yetkinler ◽  
Yicheng Cao ◽  
Takahiro Taniguchi ◽  
...  

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Manzanares ◽  
S. Cordes ◽  
L. Ariza-McNaughton ◽  
V. Sadl ◽  
K. Maruthainar ◽  
...  

During anteroposterior patterning of the developing hindbrain, the anterior expression of 3′ Hox genes maps to distinct rhombomeric boundaries and, in many cases, is upregulated in specific segments. Paralogous genes frequently have similar anterior boundaries of expression but it is not known if these are controlled by common mechanisms. The expression of the paralogous Hoxa3 and Hoxb3 genes extends from the posterior spinal cord up to the rhombomere (r) 4/5 boundary and both genes are upregulated specifically in r5. However, in this study, we have found that Hoxa3 expression is also upregulated in r6, showing that there are differences in segmental expression between paralogues. We have used transgenic analysis to investigate the mechanisms underlying the pattern of segmental expression of Hoxa3. We found that the intergenic region between Hoxa3 and Hoxa4 contains several enhancers, which summed together mediate a pattern of expression closely resembling that of the endogenous Hoxa3 gene. One enhancer specifically directs expression in r5 and r6, in a manner that reflects the upregulation of the endogenous gene in these segments. Deletion analysis localized this activity to a 600 bp fragment that was found to contain a single high-affinity binding site for the Maf bZIP protein Krml1, encoded by the kreisler gene. This site is necessary for enhancer activity and when multimerized it is sufficient to direct a kreisler-like pattern in transgenic embryos. Furthermore the r5/r6 enhancer activity is dependent upon endogenous kreisler and is activated by ectopic kreisler expression. This demonstrates that Hoxa3, along with its paralog Hoxb3, is a direct target of kreisler in the mouse hindbrain. Comparisons between the Krml1-binding sites in the Hoxa3 and Hoxb3 enhancers reveal that there are differences in both the number of binding sites and way that kreisler activity is integrated and restricted by these two control regions. Analysis of the individual sites revealed that they have different requirements for mediating r5/r6 and dorsal roof plate expression. Therefore, the restriction of Hoxb3 to r5 and Hoxa3 to r5 and r6, together with expression patterns of Hoxb3 in other vertebrate species suggests that these regulatory elements have a common origin but have later diverged during vertebrate evolution.


Circulation ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (suppl_10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christy L Avery ◽  
Praveen Sethupathy ◽  
Steven Buyske ◽  
Q. C He ◽  
Dan Y Lin ◽  
...  

The QT interval (QT) is a heritable trait and its prolongation is an established risk factor for ventricular tachyarrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Most genetic studies of QT have examined populations of European ancestry, although the increased genetic diversity in populations of African descent provides opportunity for fine-mapping, which can help narrow association signals and identify candidates for functional characterization. We examined whether eleven previously identified QT loci comprising 6,681 variants on the Illumina Metabochip array were associated with QT in 7,516 African American participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study and Women’s Health Initiative clinical trial. Among associated loci, we used conditional analyses and queried bioinformatics databases to identify and functionally categorize signals. We identified nine of the eleven QT loci in African American populations ( P <0.0045 under an additive genetic model adjusting for ancestry and demographic characteristics: NOS1AP, ATP1B1, SCN5A, SLC35F1, KCNH2, KCNQ1, LITAF, NDRG4, and RFFL ). We also identified two independent secondary signals in NOS1AP and ATP1B1 ( P < 7.4x10 −6 ). Conditional analyses adjusting for published loci in European populations demonstrated that eight of these eleven SNPs (nine primary; two secondary) were independent of previously reported SNPs. We then performed the first bioinformatics-based functional characterization of QT loci using the eleven primary and secondary variants and SNPs in strong LD (r 2 > 0.5) among these African American participants. Only the SCN5A locus included a non-synonymous coding variant (rs1805124, H558R, r 2 = 0.7 with primary SNP rs9871385, P = 4.7x10 −4 ). The remaining ten loci harbored variants located exclusively within non-coding regions. Specifically, three contained SNPs within candidate long-range regulatory elements in human cardiomyocytes, five were in or near annotated promoter regions, and the remaining two were in un-annotated, but highly conserved non-coding elements. Several of the QT risk alleles at these SNPs significantly alter the predicted binding affinity for transcription factors, such as TBX5 and AhR, which have been previously implicated in cardiac formation and function. In summary, the findings provide compelling evidence that the same genes influence variation in QT across global populations and that additional, independent signals exist in African Americans. Moreover, of those SNPs identified as strong candidates for functional evaluation, the majority implicate gene regulatory dysfunction in QT prolongation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 755-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Windheim ◽  
Hans-Gerhard Burgert

ABSTRACT The early transcription unit 3 (E3) of human adenoviruses (Ads) encodes proteins with various immunomodulatory functions. Ads from different subgenera differ considerably in their E3 coding capacity, suggesting that distinct sets of immunomodulatory E3 proteins may influence the disease pattern associated with different Ad subgenera. Interestingly, the E3 region of Ads classified in subgenus D, which are often isolated from AIDS patients and have the propensity to cause eye infections, contains a unique gene, named E3/49K, that may encode a protein with a calculated molecular weight of 48,984 that might be implicated in diseases caused by this subgenus. The 49K sequence predicts a highly glycosylated type I transmembrane protein with a short cytoplasmic tail containing two motifs, YXXΦ and LL, potentially involved in targeting the protein to endosomal or lysosomal compartments. Remarkably, the 49K protein is predicted to contain an unusual immunoglobulin-like fold. Here we have characterized the E3/49K protein of Ad type 19a, an Ad of subgenus D which causes epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. E3/49K was synthesized as an 80- to 100-kDa protein, which is unusually large for an E3 protein. In contrast to another early protein, E3/19K, the expression of E3/49K started early but continued throughout the infection cycle. Analysis of the 49K glycosylation revealed that the majority of 49K molecules contained only 12 of the predicted 14 N-glycans. Furthermore, we provide evidence that 49K is O-glycosylated. At steady state, E3/49K was localized in the Golgi-trans-Golgi network and in early endosomes. Interestingly, the 49K protein has a rather short half-life and seems to be proteolytically cleaved. A processing pattern similar to that in the early stages of infection is seen in transfected cells, constitutively expressing 49K in the absence of other Ad proteins. Together, our data provide the first biochemical and cell biological characterization of an unique E3 protein of subgenus D Ads.


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