Spps, a Drosophila Sp1/KLF family member, binds to PREs and is required for PRE activity late in development.
The Polycomb group of proteins (PcG) is important for transcriptional repression and silencing in all higher eukaryotes. In Drosophila, PcG proteins are recruited to the DNA by Polycomb-group response elements (PREs), regulatory sequences whose activity depends on the binding of many different sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins. We previously showed that a binding site for the Sp1/KLF family of zinc-finger proteins is required for PRE activity. Here, we report that the Sp1/KLF family member Spps binds specifically to Ubx and engrailed PREs, and that Spps binds to polytene chromosomes in a pattern virtually identical to that of the PcG protein, Psc. A deletion of the Spps gene causes lethality late in development and a loss in pairing-sensitive silencing, an activity associated with PREs. Finally, the Spps mutation enhances the phenotype of pho mutants. We suggest that Spps may work with, or in parallel to, Pho to recruit PcG protein complexes to PREs.
Brown
J Lesley
JL
Program in Genomics of Differentiation, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Kassis
Judith A
JA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D020218:Response Elements; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016329:Sp1 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D016335:Zinc Fingers
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C066770:Pc protein, Drosophila; D016329:Sp1 Transcription Factor; C551583:Spps protein, Drosophila; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1