scholarly journals Transposon-induced inversions activate gene expression in Maize pericarp

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharu Paul Sharma ◽  
Tao Zuo ◽  
Thomas Peterson

AbstractChromosomal inversions can have considerable biological and agronomic impacts including disrupted gene function, change in gene expression and inhibited recombination. Here we describe the molecular structure and functional impact of six inversions caused by Alternative Transpositions between p1 and p2 genes responsible for floral pigmentation in maize. In maize line p1-wwB54, the p2 gene is expressed in anther and silk but not in pericarp, making the kernels white. We identified inversions in this region caused by transposition of Ac and fractured Ac (fAc) transposable elements. These inversions change the position of a p1 enhancer and activate the expression of p2 in the kernel pericarp, resulting in red kernel color. We hypothesize that these inversions place the p2 gene promoter near a p1 gene enhancer, thereby activating p2 expression in kernel pericarp.

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharu Paul Sharma ◽  
Tao Zuo ◽  
Thomas Peterson

Abstract Chromosomal inversions can have considerable biological and agronomic impacts including disrupted gene function, change in gene expression and inhibited recombination. Here we describe the molecular structure and functional impact of six inversions caused by Alternative Transpositions between p1 and p2 genes responsible for floral pigmentation in maize. In maize line p1-wwB54, the p1 gene is null and the p2 gene is expressed in anther and silk but not in pericarp, making the kernels white. By screening for kernels with red pericarp, we identified inversions in this region caused by transposition of Ac and fractured Ac (fAc) transposable elements. We hypothesize that these inversions place the p2 gene promoter near a p1 gene enhancer, thereby activating p2 expression in kernel pericarp. To our knowledge, this is the first report of multiple recurrent inversions that change the position of a gene promoter relative to an enhancer to induce ectopic expression in a eukaryote.


1994 ◽  
Vol 298 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Pichon ◽  
C Christophe-Hobertus ◽  
G Vassart ◽  
D Christophe

The thyroglobulin gene, like many other tissue-specific genes, appears to be specifically less methylated in the differentiated cell type where it is transcribed. The thyroglobulin gene promoter elements themselves are highly CG-deficient and do not contain any HpaII/MspI sites. In this study, using DNA constructs that were methylated in vitro with HpaII or MspI methylases, we show that DNA methylation of vector sequences is sufficient to repress the activity of the thyroglobulin gene promoter in transient transfection experiments. Reporter-gene expression from a plasmid containing only the proximal thyroglobulin gene promoter is sensitive to DNA methylation even in fully differentiated thyrocytes. Transcription from methylated plasmids containing the thyroglobulin gene enhancer and proximal promoter is also clearly reduced when the transfected cells are maintained under less-differentiated conditions. These results indicate that DNA methylation can influence, from a distance, the activity of an unmodified promoter. Our results also agree with the view that loss of DNA methylation does not constitute a prerequisite for thyroglobulin gene expression in differentiated thyrocytes, where the thyroglobulin gene enhancer and promoter are activated. However, the production of thyroglobulin transcripts could be severely impaired when this activation is not maximal, as is the case in less-differentiated cells or when the enhancer element is lacking. We suggest that DNA methylation helps to maintain the thyroglobulin gene in an inactive state unless all of the conditions required for its expression are fulfilled, and that the thyroid-specific demethylation events are a consequence of the activation state of the gene.


1990 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
pp. 685-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiko Inoguchi ◽  
Hiroshi Kamada ◽  
Hiroshi Harada

1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 398-402
Author(s):  
T Rutherford ◽  
A W Nienhuis

The contribution of the human globin gene promoters to tissue-specific transcription was studied by using globin promoters to transcribe the neo (G418 resistance) gene. After transfection into different cell types, neo gene expression was assayed by scoring colony formation in the presence of G418. In K562 human erythroleukemia cells, which express fetal and embryonic globin genes but not the adult beta-globin gene, the neo gene was expressed strongly from a fetal gamma- or embryonic zeta-globin gene promoter but only weakly from the beta promoter. In murine erythroleukemia cells which express the endogenous mouse beta genes, the neo gene was strongly expressed from both beta and gamma promoters. In two nonerythroid cell lines, human HeLa cells and mouse 3T3 fibroblasts, the globin gene promoters did not allow neo gene expression. Globin-neo genes were integrated in the erythroleukemia cell genomes mostly as a single copy per cell and were transcribed from the appropriate globin gene cap site. We conclude that globin gene promoter sequences extending from -373 to +48 base pairs (bp) (relative to the cap site) for the beta gene, -385 to +34 bp for the gamma gene, and -555 to +38 bp for the zeta gene are sufficient for tissue-specific and perhaps developmentally specific transcription.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A Gallagher ◽  
Amrita Joshi ◽  
William Carson ◽  
Dawn Coleman ◽  
Peter Henke ◽  
...  

Introduction Type 2 diabetic(T2D) wounds are characterized by chronic inflammation, maintained by an exaggerated M1(pro-inflammatory) macrophage phenotype response. We seek to define a link between epigenetic modifications of bone marrow(BM) cells in T2D and dysregulated macrophages in wounds. We hypothesized that a chromatin modifying demethylase enzyme, JMJD3, is responsible for the decrease in H3K27me3 repressive methylation at the IL-12 gene promoter and thus drives an M1 macrophage phenotype in T2D wounds. Methods BM/adipose tissue(AT)/wounds were harvested from 30 diet-induced obese mice(DIO)(MG= 350g/DL) and 30 matched(WT) controls. For chromatin immunoprecipitation(ChIP) analysis, cells were isolated via ferromagnetic columns(CD34+,CD11b+). ChIP to detect histone methylation at the promoter regions of JMJD3 and IL-12(key M1 macrophage gene) was performed and RNA analysis was done with standard primers. Results JMJD3 mRNA in the BM is significantly increased in the DIO versus WT. ChIP showed increased H3K4me3(gene expression mark) in CD34+ progenitor cells and a corresponding decrease in H3K27me3(repressive mark) in monocytes at the promoter region of JMJD3. These changes correspond with the decrease in H3K27me3 seen at the IL-12 promoter in macrophages(CD11b+) from AT/T2D wounds. Conclusions Epigenetic changes initiated by JMJD3 in BM progenitor cells result in changes in histone methylation at the IL-12 promoter favoring an M1 phenotype in macrophages and thus contributes to the chronic inflammation seen in T2D wounds and AT. Whether manipulation of epigenetic enzymes could reduce chronic inflammation in T2D wounds requires further work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Andrey Rumyantsev ◽  
Anton Sidorin ◽  
Artemii Volkov ◽  
Ousama Al Shanaa ◽  
Elena Sambuk ◽  
...  

Komagataella phaffii yeast is one of the most important biocompounds producing microorganisms in modern biotechnology. Optimization of media recipes and cultivation strategies is key to successful synthesis of recombinant proteins. The complex effects of proline on gene expression in the yeast K. phaffii was analyzed on the transcriptome level in this work. Our analysis revealed drastic changes in gene expression when K. phaffii was grown in proline-containing media in comparison to ammonium sulphate-containing media. Around 18.9% of all protein-encoding genes were differentially expressed in the experimental conditions. Proline is catabolized by K. phaffii even in the presence of other nitrogen, carbon and energy sources. This results in the repression of genes involved in the utilization of other element sources, namely methanol. We also found that the repression of AOX1 gene promoter with proline can be partially reversed by the deletion of the KpPUT4.2 gene.


2014 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 424-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Aguilar-Martínez ◽  
Naoyuki Uchida ◽  
Brad Townsley ◽  
Donnelly Ann West ◽  
Andrea Yanez ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Drosatos ◽  
Nina Pollak ◽  
Panagiotis Ntziachristos ◽  
Chad M Trent ◽  
Yunying Hu ◽  
...  

Krüppel-like factors (KLF) have been associated with metabolic phenotypes. Our study focused on the metabolic role of cardiac KLF5, as it showed the highest increase among all KLFs that were detected by whole genome microarrays of energy-starved hearts obtained from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice. Analysis of ppara promoter indicated two potential binding sites for c-Jun (AP-1 sites), the transcriptional factor that is activated by LPS and reduces cardiac PPARα expression: −792/-772 bp and −719/-698 bp prior to the transcription initiation site. This analysis showed that both AP-1 sites overlap with potential KLF-binding sites. Adenovirus-mediated expression of constitutively active c-Jun in a mouse cardiomyocyte cell line (HL-1) reduced PPARα gene expression, while treatment with Ad-KLF5 had the opposite effect. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis (ChIP) showed that c-Jun binds both −792/-772 bp and −719/-698 sites of ppara promoter while KLF5 binds on −792/-772 bp. ChIP analysis also showed that LPS promotes c-Jun binding on −792/-772 bp, which prohibits occupation of this region by KLF5. A cardiomyocyte-specific KLF5 knockout mouse (αMHC-KLF5-/-) had normal cardiac function but reduced cardiac expression of PPARα (50%) and other fatty acid metabolism-associated genes such as CD36 (40%), LpL (20%), PGC1α (45%), AOX (28%) and Cpt1 (45%). High fat diet (HFD)-fed αMHC-KLF5-/- mice had a more profound body weight increase (35%) compared to HFD-fed WT mice (15%), as well as larger white adipocytes and brown adipocytes (H&E) and increased hepatic neutral lipid accumulation (Oil-Red-O). The obesogenic effect of cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of KLF5 resembles the phenotype of the αMHC-MED13-/- mice. We showed that KLF5 ablation reduced cardiac MED13 levels despite lack of changes in the expression levels of miR-208, a known regulator of MED13. Infection of HL-1 cells with Ad-KLF5 increased MED13 gene expression. ChIP identified a KLF5 binding site on med13 gene promoter region (-730/-714 bp). Thus, KLF5 regulates cardiac PPARα and MED13 and affects cardiac and systemic fatty acid metabolism and obesity, thus indicating KLF5 as a potential target for cardiac dysfunction associated with energetic complications, as well as for obesity


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 4185-4193
Author(s):  
K A Roebuck ◽  
R J Walker ◽  
W E Stumph

The DNA sequence requirements of chicken U1 RNA gene expression have been examined in an oocyte transcription system. An enhancer region, which was required for efficient U1 RNA gene expression, is contained within a region of conserved DNA sequences spanning nucleotide positions -230 to -183, upstream of the transcriptional initiation site. These DNA sequences can be divided into at least two distinct subregions or domains that acted synergistically to provide a greater than 20-fold stimulation of U1 RNA synthesis. The first domain contains the octamer sequence ATGCAAAT and was recognized by a DNA-binding factor present in HeLa cell extracts. The second domain (the SPH domain) consists of conserved sequences immediately downstream of the octamer and is an essential component of the enhancer. In the oocyte, the DNA sequences of the SPH domain were able to enhance gene expression at least 10-fold in the absence of the octamer domain. In contrast, the octamer domain, although required for full U1 RNA gene activity, was unable to stimulate expression in the absence of the adjacent downstream DNA sequences. These findings imply that sequences 3' of the octamer play a major role in the function of the chicken U1 RNA gene enhancer. This concept was supported by transcriptional competition studies in which a cloned chicken U4B RNA gene was used to compete for limiting transcription factors in oocytes. Multiple sequence motifs that can function in a variety of cis-linked configurations may be a general feature of vertebrate small nuclear RNA gene enhancers.


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