The C. elegans Tousled-like kinase (TLK-1) has an essential role in transcription.
BACKGROUND
The Tousled kinases comprise an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins that have been previously implicated in chromatin remodeling, DNA replication, and DNA repair. Here, we used RNA mediated interference (RNAi) to determine the function of the C. elegans Tousled kinase (TLK-1) during embryonic development.


RESULTS
TLK-1-deficient embryos arrested with a phenotype reminiscent of embryos that are broadly defective in transcription, and the expression of several reporter genes was dramatically reduced in tlk-1(RNAi) embryos. Furthermore, posttranslational modifications of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) and histone H3 that have been correlated with transcription elongation, phosphorylation of the RNAPII CTD at Serine 2, and methylation of histone H3 at Lysine 36 were found at significantly reduced levels in tlk-1(RNAi) embryos as compared to wild-type.


CONCLUSIONS
These results reveal a surprising requirement for a Tousled-like kinase in transcriptional regulation during development, likely during the elongation phase. In addition, our results confirm that the link between RNAPII phosphorylation and histone H3 methylation previously observed in budding yeast is functionally conserved in metazoans.
Han
Zhenbo
Z
Department of Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Saam
Jennifer R
JR
Adams
Henry P
HP
Mango
Susan E
SE
Schumacher
Jill M
JM
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002843:Chromatin / Q000201:enzymology; D005809:Genes, Regulator / Q000235:genetics; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008745:Methylation; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D010770:Phosphotransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002843:Chromatin; D006657:Histones; D008780:Methyltransferases; D010770:Phosphotransferases; C498928:TLK-1 protein, C elegans; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D012319:RNA Polymerase II