title: A lot about a little dot - lessons learned from Drosophila melanogaster chromosome 4.
abstract: The fourth chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster has a number of unique properties that make it a convenient model for the study of chromatin structure. Only 4.2 Mb overall, the 1.2 Mb distal arm of chromosome 4 seen in polytene chromosomes combines characteristics of heterochromatin and euchromatin. This domain has a repeat density of ~35%, comparable to some pericentric chromosome regions, while maintaining a gene density similar to that of the other euchromatic chromosome arms. Studies of position-effect variegation have revealed that heterochromatic and euchromatic domains are interspersed on chromosome 4, and both cytological and biochemical studies have demonstrated that chromosome 4 is associated with heterochromatic marks, such as heterochromatin protein 1 and histone 3 lysine 9 methylation. Chromosome 4 is also marked by POF (painting-of-fourth), a chromosome 4-specific chromosomal protein, and utilizes a dedicated histone methyltransferase, EGG. Studies of chromosome 4 have helped to shape our understanding of heterochromatin domains and their establishment and maintenance. In this review, we provide a synthesis of the work to date and an outlook to the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: Sarah C R
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Elgin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism*; D022041:Euchromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D022041:Euchromatin; D006570:Heterochromatin