Cis-regulatory Sequences Leading to Female-specific Expression of Yolk Protein Genes 1 and 2 in the Fat Body of Drosophila Melanogaster

Overview

Journal Mol Gen Genet

Specialties Genetics
Molecular Biology

Date 1993 Feb 1

PMID 8455566

Citations 11

Authors

N Abrahamsen

A Martinez

T Kjaer

L Sondergaard

M Bownes

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The three yolk protein genes (yp) of Drosophila melanogaster are transcribed in a sex- and tissue-limited fashion. We have searched for cis-regulatory sequences in regions flanking yp1 and yp2 to identify the elements that confer female-specific expression in the fat body. One such 127 bp element has previously been identified in this region. We show here the existence of two additional regions which confer female fat body-specific expression on an Adh reporter gene and on the native yp2 gene, respectively. This suggests some redundancy in the regulation of expression of the yp genes. Computer searches for putative binding sites for the DSX protein, which regulates sex-specific expression of the yp genes, revealed several such sites in our constructs. However, the significance of these is unclear since many such sites also occur in genes which one would not expect to be regulated in a sex-specific manner (e.g. Adh, Actin 5C). We suggest that DSX acts in concert with other proteins to mediate sex- and tissue-specific expression of the yp genes.

Citing Articles

Involvement of -Acting Elements in Molecular Regulation of JH-Mediated Vitellogenin Gene 2 of Female .

Elgendy A, Mohamed A, Duvic B, Tufail M, Takeda M Front Physiol. 2021; 12:723072.

PMID: 34526913 PMC: 8435907. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.723072.

Genetic variation in the Yolk protein expression network of Drosophila melanogaster: sex-biased negative correlations with longevity.

Tarone A, McIntyre L, Harshman L, Nuzhdin S Heredity (Edinb). 2012; 109(4):226-34.

PMID: 22760232 PMC: 3464022. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2012.34.

Genomic and functional studies of Drosophila sex hierarchy regulated gene expression in adult head and nervous system tissues.

Goldman T, Arbeitman M PLoS Genet. 2007; 3(11):e216.

PMID: 18039034 PMC: 2082469. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0030216.

Genes expressed in the Drosophila head reveal a role for fat cells in sex-specific physiology.

Fujii S, Amrein H EMBO J. 2002; 21(20):5353-63.

PMID: 12374736 PMC: 129088. DOI: 10.1093/emboj/cdf556.

Enhancer blocking by the Drosophila gypsy insulator depends upon insulator anatomy and enhancer strength.

Scott K, Taubman A, Geyer P Genetics. 1999; 153(2):787-98.

PMID: 10511558 PMC: 1460797. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/153.2.787.

References

Burtis K, Baker B . Drosophila doublesex gene controls somatic sexual differentiation by producing alternatively spliced mRNAs encoding related sex-specific polypeptides. Cell. 1989; 56(6):997-1010. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90633-8. View

Bownes M . The use of yolk protein variations in Drosophila species to analyse the control of vitellogenesis. Differentiation. 1980; 16(2):109-16. DOI: 10.1111/j.1432-0436.1980.tb01065.x. View

Brennan M, Weiner A, Goralski T, Mahowald A . The follicle cells are a major site of vitellogenin synthesis in Drosophila melanogaster. Dev Biol. 1982; 89(1):225-36. DOI: 10.1016/0012-1606(82)90309-8. View

Laemmli U . Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970; 227(5259):680-5. DOI: 10.1038/227680a0. View

Spradling A, Rubin G . Transposition of cloned P elements into Drosophila germ line chromosomes. Science. 1982; 218(4570):341-7. DOI: 10.1126/science.6289435. View

Burtis K, Coschigano K, Baker B, Wensink P . The doublesex proteins of Drosophila melanogaster bind directly to a sex-specific yolk protein gene enhancer. EMBO J. 1991; 10(9):2577-82. PMC: 452955. DOI: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07798.x. View

Bonner J, Parks C, Parker-Thornburg J, Mortin M, Pelham H . The use of promoter fusions in Drosophila genetics: isolation of mutations affecting the heat shock response. Cell. 1984; 37(3):979-91. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90432-x. View

Stanojevic D, Hoey T, Levine M . Sequence-specific DNA-binding activities of the gap proteins encoded by hunchback and Krüppel in Drosophila. Nature. 1989; 341(6240):331-5. DOI: 10.1038/341331a0. View

Rubin G, Spradling A . Vectors for P element-mediated gene transfer in Drosophila. Nucleic Acids Res. 1983; 11(18):6341-51. PMC: 326377. DOI: 10.1093/nar/11.18.6341. View

10.

Garabedian M, Shepherd B, Wensink P . A tissue-specific transcription enhancer from the Drosophila yolk protein 1 gene. Cell. 1986; 45(6):859-67. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90560-x. View

11.

Fischer J, Maniatis T . Drosophila Adh: a promoter element expands the tissue specificity of an enhancer. Cell. 1988; 53(3):451-61. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90165-1. View

12.

Bownes M, Hames B . Analysis of the yolk proteins in Drosophila melanogaster. Translation in a cell free system and peptide analysis. FEBS Lett. 1978; 96(2):327-30. DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(78)80428-1. View

13.

Hung M, Wensink P . The sequence of the Drosophila melanogaster gene for yolk protein 1. Nucleic Acids Res. 1981; 9(23):6407-19. PMC: 327612. DOI: 10.1093/nar/9.23.6407. View

14.

Baker B, Wolfner M . A molecular analysis of doublesex, a bifunctional gene that controls both male and female sexual differentiation in Drosophila melanogaster. Genes Dev. 1988; 2(4):477-89. DOI: 10.1101/gad.2.4.477. View

15.

Wildeman A . Regulation of SV40 early gene expression. Biochem Cell Biol. 1988; 66(6):567-77. DOI: 10.1139/o88-067. View

16.

Steller H, Pirrotta V . A transposable P vector that confers selectable G418 resistance to Drosophila larvae. EMBO J. 1985; 4(1):167-71. PMC: 554166. DOI: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb02332.x. View

17.

England B, Heberlein U, Tjian R . Purified Drosophila transcription factor, Adh distal factor-1 (Adf-1), binds to sites in several Drosophila promoters and activates transcription. J Biol Chem. 1990; 265(9):5086-94. View

18.

Garabedian M, Shirras A, Bownes M, Wensink P . The nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for Drosophila melanogaster yolk protein 3. Gene. 1987; 55(1):1-8. DOI: 10.1016/0378-1119(87)90242-3. View

19.

Friederich E, Baeuerle P, Garoff H, Hovemann B, Huttner W . Expression, tyrosine sulfation, and secretion of yolk protein 2 of Drosophila melanogaster in mouse fibroblasts. J Biol Chem. 1988; 263(29):14930-8. View

20.

Baker B, Ridge K . Sex and the single cell. I. On the action of major loci affecting sex determination in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1980; 94(2):383-423. PMC: 1214149. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/94.2.383. View