CGC Bibliography Paper 5215

A molecular link between gene-specific and chromosome-wide transcriptional repression.

Chu DS, Dawes HE, Lieb JD, Chan RC, Kuo AF, Meyer BJ

Medline:

11937488

Citation:

Genes & Development 16: 796-805 2002

Type:

ARTICLE

Genes:

dpy-26 dpy-27 her-1 mix-1 sdc-1 sdc-2 sdc-3

Abstract:

Gene-specific and chromosome-wide mechanisms of transcriptional regulation control development in multicellular organisms. SDC-2, the determinant of hermaphrodite fate in Caenorhabditis elegans, is a paradigm for both modes of regulation. SDC-2 represses transcription of X chromosomes to achieve dosage compensation, and it also represses the male sex-determination gene her-1 to elicit hermaphrodite differentiation. We show here that SDC-2 recruits the entire dosage compensation complex to her-1, directing this X-chromosome repression machinery to silence an individual, autosomal gene. Functional dissection of her-1 in vivo revealed DNA recognition elements required for SDC-2 binding, recruitment of the dosage compensation complex, and transcriptional repression. Elements within her-1 differed in location, sequence, and strength of repression, implying that the dosage compensation complex may regulate transcription along the X chromosome using diverse recognition elements that play distinct roles in repression.