Enhancer of Polycomb is a suppressor of position-effect variegation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Polycomb group (PcG) genes of Drosophila are negative regulators of homeotic gene expression required for maintenance of determination. Sequence similarity between Polycomb and Su(var)205 led to the suggestion that PcG genes and modifiers of position-effect variegation (PEV) might function analogously in the establishment of chromatin structure. If PcG proteins participate directly in the same process that leads to PEV, PcG mutations should suppress PEV. We show that mutations in E(Pc), an unusual member of the PcG, suppress PEV of four variegating rearrangements: In(l)wm4, B(SV), T(2;3)Sb(V) and In(2R)bw(VDe2). Using reversion of a Pelement insertion, deficiency mapping, and recombination mapping as criteria, homeotic effects and suppression of PEV associated with E(Pc) co-map. Asx is an enhancer of PEV, whereas nine other PcG loci do not affect PEV. These results support the conclusion that there are fewer similarities between PcG genes and modifiers of PEV than previously supposed. However, E(Pc) appears to be an important link between the two groups. We discuss why Asx might act as an enhancer of PEV.     

Teleology in biology: Is it a cause for concern?

Evolutionary biology is distinctively forward looking or 'teleological' in its way of thought. In this, it distinguishes itself from the physical sciences. One can ask for the purpose or function of the stegoseaur's fins. One would never ask for the function of a planet. Many, including biologists, worry that such teleology is an unhappy legacy of a Christian past. Although teleology does have its roots in pre-evolutionary thought, there are good reasons why it has persisted, and there are equally good reasons why it should be cherished.     

Evolution and progress

The concept of progress is one which makes evolutionists feel very uneasy, yet it is also a concept to which they are forever returning. It is useful to make a distinction between 'comparative progress' which involves competition between groups, and 'absolute progress' which involves the climb up some objective scale. Both kinds of progress have been the subject of much debate in recent years, leading one to turn from expectations that the controversy will ever be resolved to queries about why it continues to obsess so many people.     

Chironomid community structure deduced from larvae and pupal exuviae of a chalk stream

Species abundances of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) have often been excluded from studies of benthic river communities because of difficulties associated with sampling and identifying larvae. Chironomid pupal exuviae are easier to collect and identify and could be used to determine community structure if shown to be representative of local larval assemblages. Larvae were sampled along a 20 m chain secured over mid-channel gravels, upstream of two collection points for pupal exuviae. Proportional taxa abundances of pupal exuviae and larvae sampled from 130 m of stream were directly compared by a ² test of independence and also separately fitted to four models of species abundance distribution. Observed proportions of taxa were not independent of the life stage sampled. The greatest discrepancies occurred with species of pupal exuviae that were absent as larvae from the gravel. The log series model provided the best fit with both pupal and larval data. Collections of pupal exuviae had greater species richness and evenness than samples of larvae. This was considered to be a consequence of sampling larvae from the gravel habitat alone.     

Correlations between chironomid pupal skin collections and habitats recorded from a chalk river

Chironomid pupal skins were collected during one year from three sites along a chalk stream in southern England. The sites had similar chemistry and discharge but differed in their current and temperature regimes. Substrate composition upstream of each collection point was surveyed during spring, summer and autumn. Proportions of macrophytes and sediments were compared with proportions of chironomid species and trophic groups. Seasonal changes in substrate and pupal skin collections were correlated by classification and direct ordination techniques. The distribution of chironomid species were indicated as being significantly related to the recorded substrate data.     

S100A7, S100A10, and S100A11 are transglutaminase substrates

S100 proteins are a family of 10-14 kDa EF-hand-containing calcium binding proteins that function to transmit calcium-dependent cell regulatory signals. S100 proteins have no intrinsic enzyme activity but bind in a calcium-dependent manner to target proteins to modulate target protein function. Transglutaminases are enzymes that catalyze the formation of covalent epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine bonds between protein-bound glutamine and lysine residues. In the present study we show that transglutaminase-dependent covalent modification is a property shared by several S100 proteins and that both type I and type II transglutaminases can modify S100 proteins. We further show that the reactive regions are at the solvent-exposed amino- and carboxyl-terminal ends of the protein, regions that specify S100 protein function. We suggest that transglutaminase-dependent modification is a general mechanism designed to regulate S100 protein function.     

Analysis of protein dimerization and ligand binding of orphan receptor HNF4alpha

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha (HNF4alpha) (NR2A1), an orphan member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, binds DNA exclusively as a homodimer even though it is very similar in amino acid sequence to retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRalpha), which heterodimerizes readily with other receptors. Here, experimental analysis of residues involved in protein dimerization and studies on a reported ligand for HNF4alpha are combined with a structural model of the HNF4alpha ligand-binding domain (LBD) (residues 137 to 384). When K300 (in helix 9) and E327 (in helix 10) of HNF4alpha1 were converted to the analogous residues in RXRalpha (E390 and K417, respectively) the resulting construct did not heterodimerize with the wild-type HNF4alpha, although it was still able to form homodimers and bind DNA. Furthermore, the double mutant did not heterodimerize with RXR or RAR but was still able to dimerize in solution with an HNF4alpha construct truncated at amino acid residue 268. This suggests that the charge compatibility between helices 9 and 10 is necessary, but not sufficient, to determine dimerization partners, and that additional residues in the HNF4alpha LBD are also important in dimerization. The structural model of the HNF4alpha LBD and an amino acid sequence alignment of helices 9 and 10 in various HNF4 and other receptor genes indicates that a K(X)(26)E motif can be used to identify HNF4 genes from other organisms and that a (E/D(X)(26-29)K/R) motif can be used to predict heterodimerization of many, but not all, receptors with RXR. In vitro analysis of another HNF4alpha mutant construct indicates that helix 10 also plays a structural role in the conformational integrity of HNF4alpha. The structural model and experimental analysis indicate that fatty acyl CoA thioesters, the proposed HNF4alpha ligands, are not good candidates for a traditional ligand for HNF4alpha. Finally, these results provide insight into the mechanism of action of naturally occurring mutations in the human HNF4alpha gene found in patients with maturity onset diabetes of the young 1 (MODY1).