The regulation of the Drosophila msl-2 gene reveals a function for Sex-lethal in translational control.
In Drosophila, dosage compensation occurs by increasing the transcription of the single male X chromosome. Four trans-acting factors encoded by the male-specific lethal genes are required for this process. Dosage compensation is restricted to males by the splicing regulator Sex-lethal, which functions to prevent the production of the MSL-2 protein in females by an unknown mechanism. In this report, we provide evidence that Sex-lethal acts synergistically through sequences in both the 5' and 3' untranslated regions of MSL-2 to mediate repression. We also provide evidence that the repression of MSL-2 is directly regulated by Sex-lethal at the level of translation.
Bashaw
G J
GJ
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
Baker
B S
BS
D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014960:X Chromosome
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C094166:msl-2 protein, Drosophila