The fully linked HTML version of this article has now been published.
Development ePress online publication date 19 Apr 2006
doi: 10.1242/dev.02372
Research article
Senseless physically interacts with proneural proteins and functions as a transcriptional co-activator
Melih Acar,
Hamed Jafar-Nejad,
Nikolaos Giagtzoglou,
Sasidhar Yallampalli,
Gabriela David,
Yuchun He,
Christos Delidakis,
and
Hugo J. Bellen*
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: hbellen{at}bcm.tmc.edu)
The zinc-finger transcription factor Senseless is co-expressed with basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proneural proteins in Drosophila sensory organ precursors and is required for their normal development. High levels of Senseless synergize with bHLH proteins and upregulate target gene expression, whereas low levels of Senseless act as a repressor in vivo. However, the molecular mechanism for this dual role is unknown. Here, we show that Senseless binds bHLH proneural proteins via its core zinc fingers and is recruited by proneural proteins to their target enhancers to function as a co-activator. Some point mutations in the Senseless zinc-finger region abolish its DNA-binding ability but partially spare the ability of Senseless to synergize with proneural proteins and to induce sensory organ formation in vivo. Therefore, we propose that the structural basis for the switch between the repressor and co-activator functions of Senseless is the ability of its core zinc fingers to interact physically with both DNA and bHLH proneural proteins. As Senseless zinc fingers are 
90% identical to the corresponding zinc fingers of its vertebrate homologue Gfi1, which is thought to cooperate with bHLH proteins in several contexts, the Senseless/bHLH interaction might be evolutionarily conserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
K. L. Pepple, M. Atkins, K. Venken, K. Wellnitz, M. Harding, B. Frankfort, and G. Mardon
Two-step selection of a single R8 photoreceptor: a bistable loop between senseless and rough locks in R8 fate
Development,
December 15, 2008;
135(24):
4071 - 4079.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A.-C. Tien, A. Rajan, K. L. Schulze, H. D. Ryoo, M. Acar, H. Steller, and H. J. Bellen
Ero1L, a thiol oxidase, is required for Notch signaling through cysteine bridge formation of the Lin12-Notch repeats in Drosophila melanogaster
J. Cell Biol.,
September 22, 2008;
182(6):
1113 - 1125.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. M. Powell, A. M. Deaton, M. A. Wear, and A. P. Jarman
Specificity of Atonal and Scute bHLH factors: analysis of cognate E box binding sites and the influence of Senseless
Genes Cells,
September 1, 2008;
13(9):
915 - 929.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Xie, M. Charlton-Perkins, E. McDonald, B. Gebelein, and T. Cook
Senseless functions as a molecular switch for color photoreceptor differentiation in Drosophila
Development,
December 1, 2007;
134(23):
4243 - 4253.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Zhu, K. G. Harutyunyan, J. L. Peng, J. Wang, R. J. Schwartz, and J. W. Belmont
Identification of a novel role of ZIC3 in regulating cardiac development
Hum. Mol. Genet.,
July 15, 2007;
16(14):
1649 - 1660.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Xu and B. L. Kee
Growth factor independent 1B (Gfi1b) is an E2A target gene that modulates Gata3 in T-cell lymphomas
Blood,
May 15, 2007;
109(10):
4406 - 4414.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S.-Z. Wang, J. Dulin, H. Wu, E. Hurlock, S.-E. Lee, K. Jansson, and Q. R. Lu
An oligodendrocyte-specific zinc-finger transcription regulator cooperates with Olig2 to promote oligodendrocyte differentiation
Development,
September 1, 2006;
133(17):
3389 - 3398.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006
