Different requirements for l(1)giant in two embryonic domains of Drosophila melanogaster

L(1)giant is a zygotic lethal mutation which affects the embryonic development of both the labial/thoracic segments and a subset of posterior abdominal segments. Using antibodies specific for proteins encoded by several Drosophila genes to identify the compartmental origin of the defects, we show that the requirement of giant activity is different in these two embryonic domains. Anteriorly, the posterior compartment of the labial segment is missing at the blastoderm stage. Posteriorly, cells are specifically deleted by cell death within the anterior compartments of abdominal segments 5–7 during germ band elongation. In mature embryos, posterior compartment structures of the peripheral nervous system of A5–7 are fused. In addition to a different pattern of defect in the two parts of the embryo, the kind of action appears different. Anteriorly, giant resembles a gap mutation in that a particular region is missing from the blastoderm fate map, whereas in the abdominal domain, giant affects the development of anterior compartment-specific structures.     

Double-segment defining role of even-skipped homologs along the evolution of insect pattern formation

Recent studies on insect patterning suggest that the genetic hierarchy may be roughly conserved in phylogenetically divergent species, but pair-rule genes may not function identically in all insects. In order to understand potential evolutionary changes in the role of the pair-rule genes, a Bombyx even-skipped homolog was cloned and its expression pattern during early embryogenesis studied. Eight stripes of Bombyx even-skipped were progressively expressed in an antero–posterior order. Later, these stripes disappeared anteriorly. Under this detection system, Bombyx even-skipped stripes clearly do not resolve into the corre sponding secondary stripes, an obvious difference from Drosophila and Tribolium . These results suggest that Bombyx even-skipped may serve a double-segment defining role and may determine the odd-numbered engrailed stripes.     

The E2F functional analogue SBF recruits the Rpd3(L) HDAC,via Whi5 and Stb1, and the FACT chromatin reorganizer,to yeast G1 cyclin promoters

Regulation of the CLN1 and CLN2 G1 cyclin genes controls cell cycle progression. The SBF activator binds to these promoters but is kept inactive by the Whi5 and Stb1 inhibitors. The Cdc28 cyclin‐dependent kinase phosphorylates Whi5, ending the inhibition. Our chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments show that SBF, Whi5 and Stb1 recruit both Cdc28 and the Rpd3(L) histone deacetylase to CLN promoters, extending the analogy with mammalian G1 cyclin promoters in which Rb recruits histone deacetylases. Finally, we show that the SBF subunit Swi6 recruits the FACT chromatin reorganizer to SBF‐ and MBF‐regulated genes. Mutations affecting FACT reduce the transient nucleosome eviction seen at these promoters during a normal cell cycle and also reduce expression. Temperature‐sensitive mutations affecting FACT and Cdc28 can be suppressed by disruption of STB1 and WHI5, suggesting that one critical function of FACT and Cdc28 is overcoming chromatin repression at G1 cyclin promoters. Thus, SBF recruits complexes to promoters that either enhance (FACT) or repress (Rpd3L) accessibility to chromatin, and also recruits the kinase that activates START.     

Transcriptional Silencers in Drosophila Serve a Dual Role as Transcriptional Enhancers in Alternate Cellular Contexts

1. Download : Download high-res image (163KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Dynamic filtration of the expression pattern variability of Drosophila zygotic segmentation genes

Analysis of the quantitative data obtained by processing the confocal images showed that the initial variability of the expression pattern of Drosophila zygotic segmentation genes was strongly reduced by the onset of gastrulation. The following variability components were studied: the range of gene expression intensity in different embryos, the time and succession of the formation of expression domain, types of formation, and domain positioning. At the level of zygotic genes, the positioning error proved to be dynamically filtered with time.     

Approach of the functional evolution of duplicated genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a new classification method based on protein-protein interaction data

The concept of protein function is widely used and manipulated by biologists. However, the means of the concept and its understanding may vary depending on the level of functionality one considers (molecular, cellular, physiological, etc.). Genomic studies and new high-throughput methods of the post-genomic era provide the opportunity to shed a new light on the concept of protein function: protein-protein interactions can now be considered as pieces of incomplete but still gigantic networks and the analysis of these networks will permit the emergence of a more integrated view of protein function. In this context, we propose a new functional classification method, which, unlike usual methods based on sequence homology, allows the definition of functional classes of protein based on the identity of their interacting partners. An example of such classification will be shown and discussed for a subset of Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins, accounting for 7% of the yeast proteome. The genome of the budding yeast contains 50% of protein-coding genes that are paralogs, including 457 pairs of duplicated genes coming probably from an ancient whole genome duplication. We will comment on the functional classification of the duplicated genes when using our method and discuss the contribution of these results to the understanding of function evolution for the duplicated genes.     

MvaT调控铜绿假单胞菌吩嗪的合成机制

【背景】属于H-NS家族的MvaT转录因子参与了铜绿假单胞菌的许多重要代谢过程,如吩嗪合成代谢,但其调控方式仍不十分明确。【目的】确定转录调控因子MvaT是否直接调控铜绿假单胞菌的吩嗪合成过程,即该蛋白是否可以直接结合2个吩嗪-1-羧酸合成基因簇(phzA1G1和phzA2G2)与3个分支转化基因(phzH、phzS和phzM)的上游启动子区域。【方法】以铜绿假单胞菌SJTD-1和其mvaT基因敲除突变株SJTD-1(ΔmvaT)为研究对象,检测其在不同培养基条件下吩嗪化合物的合成量差异。通过体外异源表达与亲和纯化,获得重组蛋白MvaT。利用凝胶阻滞实验,确定MvaT重组蛋白对5个吩嗪代谢基因簇/基因上游启动子的结合情况。【结果】mvaT基因敲除突变株SJTD-1(ΔmvaT)的吩嗪产量较野生型显著提升。MvaT重组蛋白被有效表达与纯化,体外凝胶阻滞实验结果显示,该重组蛋白可与phzA1G1、phzA2G2、phzM、phzS和phzH的上游启动子区域均发生特异性结合。其中,重组蛋白MvaT与phzA1G1和phzA2G2的结合区域位于其上游启动子的200 bp以内,而该蛋白与phzM、phzS和phzH的结合区域则位于其上游启动子的100 bp以内。【结论】MvaT蛋白通过直接结合吩嗪合成代谢基因的上游启动子区域来直接调控假单胞菌的吩嗪类化合物合成。     

PROmiRNA: a new miRNA promoter recognition method uncovers the complex regulation of intronic miRNAs

The regulation of intragenic miRNAs by their own intronic promoters is one of the open problems of miRNA biogenesis. Here, we describe PROmiRNA, a new approach for miRNA promoter annotation based on a semi-supervised statistical model trained on deepCAGE data and sequence features. We validate our results with existing annotation, PolII occupancy data and read coverage from RNA-seq data. Compared to previous methods PROmiRNA increases the detection rate of intronic promoters by 30%, allowing us to perform a large-scale analysis of their genomic features, as well as elucidate their contribution to tissue-specific regulation. PROmiRNA can be downloaded from http://promirna.molgen.mpg.de.     

Structural basis for LEAFY floral switch function and similarity with helix-turn-helix proteins

The LEAFY (LFY) protein is a key regulator of flower development in angiosperms. Its gradually increased expression governs the sharp floral transition, and LFY subsequently controls the patterning of flower meristems by inducing the expression of floral homeotic genes. Despite a wealth of genetic data, how LFY functions at the molecular level is poorly understood. Here, we report crystal structures for the DNA-binding domain of Arabidopsis thaliana LFY bound to two target promoter elements. LFY adopts a novel seven-helix fold that binds DNA as a cooperative dimer, forming base-specific contacts in both the major and minor grooves. Cooperativity is mediated by two basic residues and plausibly accounts for LFY's effectiveness in triggering sharp developmental transitions. Our structure reveals an unexpected similarity between LFY and helix-turn-helix proteins, including homeodomain proteins known to regulate morphogenesis in higher eukaryotes. The appearance of flowering plants has been linked to the molecular evolution of LFY. Our study provides a unique framework to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying floral development and the evolutionary history of flowering plants.     

Meiotic Cells Counteract Programmed Retrotransposon Activation via RNA-Binding Translational Repressor Assemblies

1. Download : Download high-res image (204KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image