First published online October 13, 2005
Development 132, 2104e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Cut to cohesin's regulation of gene expression
Long-range communication between enhancers and promoters regulates gene
expression in many developmental situations. In Drosophila wing
margin external sensory organs, an enhancer 85 kb upstream of the cut
homeodomain gene activates its expression. Nipped-B, which loads the cohesin
complex onto chromosomes, facilitates this activation. On
p. 4743, Dorsett and
co-workers report that cohesin also regulates cut gene expression.
They show that cohesin binds between the wing margin enhancer and the
cut promoter in cultured Drosophila cells. Reduced
expression of the Smc1 cohesin subunit and a mutation in the cohesin loading
factor Pds5 that reduces cohesin binding to chromosomes both increase
cut expression. The researchers conclude that cohesin inhibits the
long-range activation of cut and suggest that the effects of cohesin
on gene expression could underlie the developmental defects seen in Cornelia
de Lange syndrome, which is caused by mutations in the human Nipped-B
homolog.
Related articles in Development:
- Effects of sister chromatid cohesion proteins on cut gene expression during wing development in Drosophila
- Dale Dorsett, Joel C. Eissenberg, Ziva Misulovin, Andrew Martens, Bethany Redding, and Kim McKim
Development 2005 132: 4743-4753.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
