Effects of sister chromatid cohesion proteins on cut gene expression during wing development in Drosophila.
The cohesin protein complex is a conserved structural component of chromosomes. Cohesin binds numerous sites along interphase chromosomes and is essential for sister chromatid cohesion and DNA repair. Here, we test the idea that cohesin also regulates gene expression. This idea arose from the finding that the Drosophila Nipped-B protein, a functional homolog of the yeast Scc2 factor that loads cohesin onto chromosomes, facilitates the transcriptional activation of certain genes by enhancers located many kilobases away from their promoters. We find that cohesin binds between a remote wing margin enhancer and the promoter at the cut locus in cultured cells, and that reducing the dosage of the Smc1 cohesin subunit increases cut expression in the developing wing margin. We also find that cut expression is increased by a unique pds5 gene mutation that reduces the binding of cohesin to chromosomes. On the basis of these results, we posit that cohesin inhibits long-range activation of the Drosophila cut gene, and that Nipped-B facilitates activation by regulating cohesin-chromosome binding. Such effects of cohesin on gene expression could be responsible for many of the developmental deficits that occur in Cornelia de Lange syndrome, which is caused by mutations in the human homolog of Nipped-B.
Dorsett
Dale
D
Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA. dorsettd@slu.edu
Eissenberg
Joel C
JC
Misulovin
Ziva
Z
Martens
Andrew
A
Redding
Bethany
B
McKim
Kim
K
D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002842:Chromatids / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D003635:De Lange Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000254:growth & development*; D000097722:Cohesins
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C506513:cohesin protein complex, Drosophila; D000097722:Cohesins; C066381:ct protein, Drosophila; C119839:nipped-B protein, Drosophila