title: A double-bromodomain protein, FSH-S, activates the homeotic gene ultrabithorax through a critical promoter-proximal region.
abstract: More than a dozen trithorax group (trxG) proteins are involved in activation of Drosophila HOX genes. How they act coordinately to integrate signals from distantly located enhancers is not fully understood. The female sterile (1) homeotic (fs(1)h) gene is one of the trxG genes that is most critical for Ultrabithorax (Ubx) activation. We show that one of the two double-bromodomain proteins encoded by fs(1)h acts as an essential factor in the Ubx proximal promoter. First, overexpression of the small isoform FSH-S, but not the larger one, can induce ectopic expression of HOX genes and cause body malformation. Second, FSH-S can stimulate Ubx promoter in cultured cells through a critical proximal region in a bromodomain-dependent manner. Third, purified FSH-S can bind specifically to a motif within this region that was previously known as the ZESTE site. The physiological relevance of FSH-S is ascertained using transgenic embryos containing a modified Ubx proximal promoter and chromatin immunoprecipitation. In addition, we show that FSH-S is involved in phosphorylation of itself and other regulatory factors. We suggest that FSH-S acts as a critical component of a regulatory circuitry mediating long-range effects of distant enhancers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 115, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuh-Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Balas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Shu-Chun
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kennison
authors.forename: Der-Hwa
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020218:Response Elements / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C066177:Ubx protein, Drosophila; C109569:fs(1)h protein, Drosophila; C060849:z protein, Drosophila