title: Chromosomal distribution of PcG proteins during Drosophila development.
abstract: Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are able to maintain the memory of silent transcriptional states of homeotic genes throughout development. In Drosophila, they form multimeric complexes that bind to specific DNA regulatory elements named PcG response elements (PREs). To date, few PREs have been identified and the chromosomal distribution of PcG proteins during development is unknown. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) with genomic tiling path microarrays to analyze the binding profile of the PcG proteins Polycomb (PC) and Polyhomeotic (PH) across 10 Mb of euchromatin. We also analyzed the distribution of GAGA factor (GAF), a sequence-specific DNA binding protein that is found at most previously identified PREs. Our data show that PC and PH often bind to clustered regions within large loci that encode transcription factors which play multiple roles in developmental patterning and in the regulation of cell proliferation. GAF co-localizes with PC and PH to a limited extent, suggesting that GAF is not a necessary component of chromatin at PREs. Finally, the chromosome-association profile of PC and PH changes during development, suggesting that the function of these proteins in the regulation of some of their target genes might be more dynamic than previously anticipated.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genetics, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Montpellier Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nègre
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hennetin
authors.forename: Ling V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lavrov
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bellis
authors.forename: Kevin P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cavalli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation / Q000379:methods; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008297:Male; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D009698:Nucleoproteins; C066770:Pc protein, Drosophila; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C063460:Trl protein, Drosophila; C118475:gt protein, Drosophila; C106513:peb protein, Drosophila; C072820:ph-d protein, Drosophila; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1