Skip Navigation

Nucleic Acids Research 2004 32(19):5916-5927; doi:10.1093/nar/gkh926
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Print PDF (453K) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Raynard, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Baker, M. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Raynard, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Baker, M. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published online 4 November 2004

Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 32 No. 19 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Cis-acting regulatory sequences promote high-frequency gene conversion between repeated sequences in mammalian cells

Steven J. Raynard and Mark D. Baker*

Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 519 824 4120; Ext. 54788; Fax: +1 519 837 2075; Email: mdbaker{at}uoguelph.ca

Received August 6, 2004; Revised and Accepted October 19, 2004

In mammalian cells, little is known about the nature of recombination-prone regions of the genome. Previously, we reported that the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) µ locus behaved as a hotspot for mitotic, intrachromosomal gene conversion (GC) between repeated µ constant (Cµ) regions in mouse hybridoma cells. To investigate whether elements within the µ gene regulatory region were required for hotspot activity, gene targeting was used to delete a 9.1 kb segment encompassing the µ gene promoter (Pµ), enhancer (Eµ) and switch region (Sµ) from the locus. In these cell lines, GC between the Cµ repeats was significantly reduced, indicating that this ‘recombination-enhancing sequence’ (RES) is necessary for GC hotspot activity at the IgH locus. Importantly, the RES fragment stimulated GC when appended to the same Cµ repeats integrated at ectopic genomic sites. We also show that deletion of Eµ and flanking matrix attachment regions (MARs) from the RES abolishes GC hotspot activity at the IgH locus. However, no stimulation of ectopic GC was observed with the Eµ/MARs fragment alone. Finally, we provide evidence that no correlation exists between the level of transcription and GC promoted by the RES. We suggest a model whereby Eµ/MARS enhances mitotic GC at the endogenous IgH µ locus by effecting chromatin modifications in adjacent DNA.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
E. Schildkraut, C. A. Miller, and J. A. Nickoloff
Gene conversion and deletion frequencies during double-strand break repair in human cells are controlled by the distance between direct repeats
Nucleic Acids Res., March 14, 2005; 33(5): 1574 - 1580.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.