Idefix Insulator Activity Can Be Modulated by Nearby Regulatory Elements

Overview

Journal Nucleic Acids Res

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Biochemistry

Date 2007 Apr 12

PMID 17426135

Citations 8

Authors

E Brasset

F Bantignies

F Court

S Cheresiz

C Conte

C Vaury

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Insulators play important roles in controlling gene activity and maintaining regulatory independence between neighbouring genes. In this article, we show that the enhancer-blocking activity of the insulator present within the LTR retrotransposon Idefix can be abolished if two copies of the region containing the insulator--specifically, the long terminal repeat (LTR)--are fused to the retrotransposon's 5' untranslated region (5' UTR). The presence of this combination of two [LTR-5' UTR] modules is a prerequisite for the loss of enhancer-blocking activity. We further show that the 5' UTR causes flanking genomic sequences to be displaced to the nuclear periphery, which is not observed when two insulators are present by themselves. This study thus provides a functional link between insulators and independent genomic modules, which may cooperate to allow the specific regulation of defined genomic loci via nuclear repositioning. It further illustrates the complexity of genomic regulation within a chromatic environment with multiple functional elements.

Citing Articles

GATA simple sequence repeats function as enhancer blocker boundaries.

Kumar R, Krishnan J, Singh N, Singh L, Mishra R Nat Commun. 2013; 4:1844.

PMID: 23673629 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2872.

Transcriptional effects of a lupus-associated polymorphism in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of human complement receptor 2 (CR2/CD21).

Cruickshank M, Karimi M, Mason R, Fenwick E, Mercer T, Tsao B Mol Immunol. 2012; 52(3-4):165-73.

PMID: 22673213 PMC: 3401243. DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2012.04.013.

Chromatin domain boundary element search tool for Drosophila.

Srinivasan A, Mishra R Nucleic Acids Res. 2012; 40(10):4385-95.

PMID: 22287636 PMC: 3378885. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gks045.

Polycomb group-dependent, heterochromatin protein 1-independent, chromatin structures silence retrotransposons in somatic tissues outside ovaries.

Dufourt J, Brasset E, Desset S, Pouchin P, Vaury C DNA Res. 2011; 18(6):451-61.

PMID: 21908513 PMC: 3223077. DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsr031.

Interaction between a pair of gypsy insulators or between heterologous gypsy and Wari insulators modulates Flp site-specific recombination in Drosophila melanogaster.

Krivega M, Savitskaya E, Krivega I, Karakozova M, Parshikov A, Golovnin A Chromosoma. 2010; 119(4):425-34.

PMID: 20354861 DOI: 10.1007/s00412-010-0268-7.

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