Skip Navigation



Nucleic Acids Research Advance Access published online on May 5, 2007
Nucleic Acids Research, doi:10.1093/nar/gkm282
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Print PDF (1029K) Freely available
Right arrow Screen PDF (360K) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
35/11/3561    most recent
gkm282v2
gkm282v1
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 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 Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gilfillan, G. D.
Right arrow Articles by Becker, P. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gilfillan, G. D.
Right arrow Articles by Becker, P. B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2007 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Molecular Biology

Cumulative contributions of weak DNA determinants to targeting the Drosophila dosage compensation complex

Gregor D. Gilfillan, Cornelia König, Ina K. Dahlsveen, Nicky Prakoura, Tobias Straub, Rosemarie Lamm, Torsten Fauth and Peter B. Becker*

Adolf-Butenandt Institut, Molekularbiologie, Ludwig Maximilian Universität, Schillerstrasse 44, 80336 Munich, Germany

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +49-89-2180-75427; Fax: +49-89-2180-75425; Email: pbecker{at}med.uni-muenchen.de

Received February 20, 2007. Revised April 11, 2007. Accepted April 11, 2007.

Fine-tuning of X chromosomal gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster involves the selective interaction of the Dosage Compensation Complex (DCC) with the male X chromosome, in order to increase the transcription of many genes. However, the X chromosomal DNA sequences determining DCC binding remain elusive. By adapting a ‘one-hybrid’ assay, we identified minimal DNA elements that direct the interaction of the key DCC subunit, MSL2, in cells. Strikingly, several such novel MSL2 recruitment modules have very different DNA sequences. The assay revealed a novel, 40 bp DNA element that is necessary for recruitment of DCC to an autosomal binding site in flies in the context of a longer sequence and sufficient by itself to direct recruitment if trimerized. Accordingly, recruitment of MSL2 to the single 40 bp element in cells was weak, but as a trimer approached the power of the strongest DCC recruitment site known to date, the roX1 DH site. This element is the shortest MSL2 recruitment sequence known to date. The results support a model for MSL2 recruitment according to which several different, degenerate sequence motifs of variable affinity cluster and synergise to form a high affinity site.

Present addresses: Gregor D. Gilfillan, Ullevål Universitetssykehus, Medisinsk Genetikk, Kirkeveien 166, 0407 Oslo, Norway Cornelia König, Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie Heidelberg (ZMBH), Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, University Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

Ina K. Dahlsveen, Exiqon A/S, Bygstubben 9, DK-2950 Vedbaek, Denmark


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
 Mol. Cell. Biol.Home page
K. A. Worringer and B. Panning
Zinc Finger Protein Zn72D Promotes Productive Splicing of the maleless Transcript
Mol. Cell. Biol., December 15, 2007; 27(24): 8760 - 8769.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. A. Rodriguez, D. Vermaak, J. J. Bayes, and H. S. Malik
Species-specific positive selection of the male-specific lethal complex that participates in dosage compensation in Drosophila
PNAS, September 25, 2007; 104(39): 15412 - 15417.
[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.