title: Transcriptional regulation of ZicL in the Ciona intestinalis embryo.
abstract: We identified 5' upstream enhancers of two Ci-ZicL genes and characterized one of them in detail. Although the genes are tandemly repeated in the genome, the transcription of each seemed to be individually regulated. The 259-bp 5' flanking sequence contained essential elements for driving a correct spatiotemporal expression. This enhancer can be divided into two distinct modules. The A module was located between nucleotide positions -259 and -205 upstream of the putative transcription start site, and was necessary for activation in A6.2 and A6.4 blastomeres at the 32-cell stage. The BM module lay between nucleotide positions -205 and -89 and was responsible for activation in B6.2 and B6.4 blastomeres at the 32-cell stage and in A-line presumptive notochord, nerve cord, and muscle lineage cells at later stages. Two putative Fox-binding sites, one located within and the other downstream of the BM module, were necessary for the latter activity. Mutation at a potential Ets-binding site, located downstream of the BM module, caused ectopic activation of the reporter gene in a-line presumptive ectoderm cells. This suggests that repression in the a-line blastomeres is necessary for correct transcriptional control of the Ci-ZicL gene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Kochi University, Kochi, 780-8520, Japan.
authors.forename: Chiharu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anno
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Satou
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary