Characterization of the transvection mediating region of the Abdominal-B locus in Drosophila

Jumin Zhou, Hilary Ashe, Christian Burks, Michael Levine

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109 Scopus citations

Abstract

Genetic studies have identified an unusual transvection process in the Abdominal-B (Abd-B) locus of Drosophila. In some cases distal infraabominal (iab) regulatory domains continue to activate the Abd-B promoter even when translocated onto different chromosomes. Transvection depends on an approx. 10 kb genomic DNA sequence, termed the transvection mediating region (tmr), located immediately downstream of the Abd-B transcription unit. Here we report a detailed analysis of this region. Different DNA fragments from the tmr were inserted into a variety of P-transformation vectors. Analyses of reporter gene expression in transgenic embryos and adults identify at least three cis-regulatory elements, including two enhancers (IAB7 and IAB8) and a new insulator DNA (Frontabdominal-8, Fab-8). Evidence is also presented for a Polycomb Response Element (PRE) linked to the IAB8 enhancer, and an internal promoter in the iab-8 domain, which transcribes the iab-7 and iab-8 cis-regulatory DNA, including the Fab-8 insulator. We discuss the significance of these findings with regard to Abd-B transvection and long-range enhancer-promoter interactions in mammalian globin loci.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3057-3065
Number of pages9
JournalDevelopment
Volume126
Issue number14
StatePublished - Jul 1999
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology

Keywords

  • Abd-B
  • Drosophila melanogaster
  • Enhancer
  • Fab-7
  • Fab-8
  • IAB7
  • IAB8
  • Insulator
  • Promoter
  • Transvection
  • tmr

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