Delimitation and characterization of cis-acting DNA sequences required for the regulated expression and transcriptional control of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene

1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 2462-2475
Author(s):  
D J Bergsma ◽  
J M Grichnik ◽  
L M Gossett ◽  
R J Schwartz

We have previously observed that DNA sequences within the 5'-flanking region of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene harbor a cis-acting regulatory element that influences cell type and developmental stage-specific expression (J. M. Grichnik, D. J. Bergsma, and R. J. Schwartz, Nucleic Acids Res 14:1683-1701, 1986). In this report we have constructed unidirectional 5'-deletion and region-specific deletion-insertion mutations of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin upstream region and inserted these into the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression vector pSV0CAT. These constructions were used to locate DNA sequences that are required for developmental modulation of expression when transfected into differentiating myoblasts. With this assay we have delimited the 5' boundary of a cis-acting regulatory element to ca. 200 base pairs upstream of the mRNA cap site. In addition, we have preliminarily identified DNA sequences that may be important subcomponents within this element. A second major focus of this study was to identify those DNA signals within the regulatory element that control transcription. Toward this end, the expression phenotypes of progressive 5'-deletion and deletion-insertion mutants of the 5'-flanking region of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene were assayed in microinjected Xenopus laevis oocytes. These experiments defined a cis-acting transcriptional control region having a 5' border 107 base pairs preceding the alpha-actin RNA cap site. Proximal and distal functionally important regions of DNA were identified within this element. These DNA signals included within their DNA sequences the "CCAAT" and "TATA" box homologies.

1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 2462-2475 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Bergsma ◽  
J M Grichnik ◽  
L M Gossett ◽  
R J Schwartz

We have previously observed that DNA sequences within the 5'-flanking region of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene harbor a cis-acting regulatory element that influences cell type and developmental stage-specific expression (J. M. Grichnik, D. J. Bergsma, and R. J. Schwartz, Nucleic Acids Res 14:1683-1701, 1986). In this report we have constructed unidirectional 5'-deletion and region-specific deletion-insertion mutations of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin upstream region and inserted these into the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression vector pSV0CAT. These constructions were used to locate DNA sequences that are required for developmental modulation of expression when transfected into differentiating myoblasts. With this assay we have delimited the 5' boundary of a cis-acting regulatory element to ca. 200 base pairs upstream of the mRNA cap site. In addition, we have preliminarily identified DNA sequences that may be important subcomponents within this element. A second major focus of this study was to identify those DNA signals within the regulatory element that control transcription. Toward this end, the expression phenotypes of progressive 5'-deletion and deletion-insertion mutants of the 5'-flanking region of the chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene were assayed in microinjected Xenopus laevis oocytes. These experiments defined a cis-acting transcriptional control region having a 5' border 107 base pairs preceding the alpha-actin RNA cap site. Proximal and distal functionally important regions of DNA were identified within this element. These DNA signals included within their DNA sequences the "CCAAT" and "TATA" box homologies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Hu ◽  
Huili Tong ◽  
Dandan Zhao ◽  
Yunkao Cao ◽  
Weiwei Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe promoter of skeletal muscle α-actin gene (ACTA1) is highly muscle specific. The core of the bovine ACTA1 promoter extends from +29 to −233, about 262 base pairs (bp), which is sufficient to activate transcription in bovine muscle satellite cells. In this study, analysis by PCR site-specific mutagenesis showed that the cis-acting element SRE (serum response element binding factor) was processed as a transcriptional activator. In order to enhance the bovine ACTA1 promoter’s activity, we used a strategy to modify it. We cloned a fragment containing three SREs from the promoter of ACTA1, and then one or two clones were linked upstream of the core promoter (262 bp) of ACTA1. One and two clones increased the activity of the ACTA1 promoter 3-fold and 10-fold, respectively, and maintained muscle tissue specificity. The modified promoter with two clones could increase the level of ACTA1 mRNA and protein 4-fold and 1.1-fold, respectively. Immunofluorescence results showed that green fluorescence of ACTA1 increased. Additionally, the number of total muscle microfilaments increased. These genetically engineered promoters might be useful for regulating gene expression in muscle cells and improving muscle mass in livestock.


2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Xiao Meng ◽  
Chang-Ying Teng ◽  
Peng Jiang ◽  
Song Qin ◽  
Cheng-Kui Tseng

AbstractThe unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis accumulates a highly valuable ketocarotenoid, astaxanthin, under various environmental stresses. β-carotene ketolase (BKT) plays a key role in astaxanthin biosynthesis in H. pluvialis. In this paper, an approximate 700 bp 5′-flanking region of the bkt gene containing a putative promoter was cloned through walking upstream. The results of the sequence analysis showed that this bkt 5′-flanking region might have cis-acting elements such as sterol regulatory element (SRE-1)-like motifs, the C-repeat/dehydration responsive element (DRE) and al-3 proximal element (APE)-like motifs, except for typical TATA and CCAAT boxes. The results of the β-galactosidase assay and the transient expression of lacZ driven by a series of sequential deletions revealed that a minimal promoter-like region might exist from -630 to -408 bp, and the highest promoter activity was observed to span the positions from -630 to -308 bp. The results of the site-directed mutagenesis of a C-repeat/DRE and two APE-like motifs in a promoter-like region (-630 to -308 bp) suggested that two APE-like motifs might be essential for transcriptional control of the bkt gene.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4660-4669
Author(s):  
J Pavlovic ◽  
B Haribabu ◽  
R P Dottin

The signal transduction pathways that lead to gene induction are being intensively investigated in Dictyostelium discoideum. We have identified by deletion and transformation analysis a sequence element necessary for induction of a gene coding for uridine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPGP1) of D. discoideum in response to extracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP). This regulatory element is located 380 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site and contains a G+C-rich partially palindromic sequence. It is not required for transcription per se but is required for induction of the gene in response to the stimulus of extracellular cAMP. The cAMP response sequence is also required for induction of the gene during normal development. A second A+T-rich cis-acting region located immediately downstream of the cAMP response sequence appears to be essential for the basal level of expression of the UDPGP1 gene. The position of the cAMP response element coincides with a DNase I-hypersensitive site that is observed when the UDPGP1 gene is actively transcribed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5090-5100
Author(s):  
T C Lee ◽  
K L Chow ◽  
P Fang ◽  
R J Schwartz

Three upstream CBAR cis-acting promoter elements, containing the inner core CC(A/T)6GG of the serum response element (SRE), are required for myogenic cell type-restricted expression of the avian skeletal alpha-actin gene (K.L. Chow and R.J. Schwartz, Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:528-538, 1990). These actin SRE elements display differential binding properties with two distinct nuclear proteins, serum response factor (SRF) and another factor described here as F-ACT1. SRF is able to bind to all actin SREs with various affinities. This multisite interaction is marked by cooperative binding events in that the two high-affinity proximal and distal SREs facilitate the weak central-site interaction with SRF, leading to the formation of a higher-order SRF-promoter complex. Functional analyses reveal that undisrupted multiple SRF-DNA interactions are absolutely essential for promoter activity in myogenic cells. F-ACT1, present at higher levels in nonmyogenic cells and replicating myoblasts than in myotubes, binds solely to the proximal SRE, and its binding is mutually exclusive with that of SRF owing to their overlapping base contacts. The cooperative promoter binding by SRF, however, can effectively displace prebound F-ACT1. In addition, an intact F-ACT1 binding site acts as a negative promoter element by restricting developmentally timed expression in myoblasts. F-ACT1 may therefore act as a repressor of skeletal alpha-actin gene transcription. This interplay between F-ACT1 and SRF may constitute a developmental as well as a physiologically regulated mechanism which modulates sarcomeric actin gene expression.


1983 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 1996-2005
Author(s):  
R A Bhat ◽  
B Metz ◽  
B Thimmappaya

The intragenic transcriptional control region (internal promoter) of the adenovirus type 2 VAI RNA gene was mutated by deletion, insertion, and substitution of DNA sequences at the plasmid level. The mutant plasmids were assayed for in vitro transcriptional activity by using HeLa cell extracts. The mutant clones with substitution or insertion of DNA sequences or both between nucleotides +18 and +53 of the VAI RNA gene were all transcriptionally active, although to various extents. Substitution of unrelated DNA sequences up to +26 or between +54 and +61 abolished the transcriptional activity completely. Based on these results, the intragenic promoter sequences of the VAI RNA gene can be subdivided into two components: element A, +10 to +18; and element B, +54 to +69. The distance between the A and B components could be enlarged from its normal 35 base pairs to 75 base pairs without destroying the transcriptional activity. However, a deletion of 4 or 6 base pairs in the DNA segment separating the A and B components (segment C) reduced the transcriptional activity of the genes to less than 2% of that of the wild type. When the VAI RNA gene with its element A or B was substituted for the corresponding element A or B of the Xenopus laevis tRNAMet gene, the hybrid genes transcribed close to the level of the wild-type VAI RNA gene and about 10- to 20-fold more efficiently than the tRNAMet gene. Thus, the organization of DNA sequences in the internal promoter of the VAI RNA gene appears to be very similar to that of eucaryotic tRNA genes. This similarity suggests an evolutionary relationship of the VAI RNA gene to tRNA genes.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 528-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
K L Chow ◽  
R J Schwartz

The chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene promoter region provides at least a 75-fold-greater transcriptional activity in muscle cells than in fibroblasts. The cis-acting sequences required for cell type-restricted expression within this 200-base-pair (bp) region were elucidated by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays of site-directed Bg/II linker-scanning mutations transiently transfected into primary cultures. Four positive cis-acting elements were identified and are required for efficient transcriptional activity in myogenic cells. These elements, conserved across vertebrate evolution, include the ATAAAA box (-24 bp), paired CCAAT-box-associated repeats (CBARs; at -83 bp and -127 bp), and the upstream T+A-rich regulatory sequence (at -176 bp). Basal transcriptional activity in fibroblasts was not as dependent on the upstream CBAR or regions of the upstream T+A-rich regulatory sequence. Transfection experiments provided evidence that positive regulatory factors required for alpha-actin expression in fibroblasts are limiting. In addition, negative cis-acting elements were detected and found closely associated with the G+C-rich sequences that surround the paired CBARs. Negative elements may have a role in restricting developmentally timed expression in myoblasts and appear to inhibit promoter activity in nonmyogenic cells. Cell type-specific expression of the skeletal alpha-actin gene promoter is regulated by combinatorial and possibly competitive interactions between multiple positive and negative cis-acting elements.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 3483-3491 ◽  
Author(s):  
L J Abraham ◽  
A D Bradshaw ◽  
B R Shiels ◽  
W Northemann ◽  
G Hudson ◽  
...  

mRNA coding for the abundant broad-range plasma proteinase inhibitor alpha 1-inhibitor III (alpha 1I3) was detected only in rat liver, while mRNA for the related proteins alpha 1-macroglobulin and alpha 2-macroglobulin was also found in a variety of nonhepatic tissues. cis-Acting control elements necessary for the hepatic transcription of alpha 1I3 were mapped by transfection and expression studies of control-region constructs in cultured hepatic and nonhepatic cells. The promoter-proximal 5'-flanking region contained four control elements, I to IV, located between -109 and -196 base pairs upstream of the transcriptional start site relevant for the hepatic transcription of this gene. Elements II and III were essential, and I and IV exerted strong modulatory effects. Elements I to III acted as positive regulators, and IV acted as a negative element. Element II contained the sequence TGGCA and is probably a binding site for a nuclear factor related to the known transcription factor NF1. The other three elements did not resemble consensus binding sites for known transcription factors that are involved in the hepatocyte-specific transcription of other well-characterized plasma protein genes, such as the prototype factor HNF-1. Thus, the alpha 1I3 gene achieves its highly hepatocyte-specific transcription through a novel combination of cis-acting control elements and trans-acting factors.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 1343-1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
W W Mattox ◽  
N Davidson

We isolated recombinant lambda phage clones spanning 49 kilobases of DNA which contain the Beadex and heldup-a loci of Drosophila melanogaster. These cloned DNAs were used to analyze the structure of eight dominant mutant alleles of the Beadex locus which show increased gene activity. A region, only 700 base pairs in length, is altered in each of these mutants. Six of the mutations have DNA insertions within this segment. Most of these insertions resemble retrovirus-like transposable elements. In one case (Beadex2) the inserted sequences are homologous to the gypsy transposon family. The other two Beadex alleles were induced by hybrid dysgenesis and suffered deletions which included at least part of the 700-base-pair segment. These deletions appear to have resulted from imprecise excision or deletion of a nearby P element found in the wild-type parental strain. Analysis of one heldup-a allele (heldup-aD30r) indicates that a similar P element-mediated event is responsible for this lesion. In this mutant, deletion of sequences no more than 1,600 base pairs from the Beadex locus accompanies the loss of heldup-a function. The deleted sequences in heldup-aD30r include the entire 700-base-pair segment within which at least part of the Beadex locus resides, yet these flies have no Beadex phenotype. This indicates that a functional heldup-a gene is necessary for expression of the Beadex phenotype. Together, these results suggest that the Beadex functional domain is contained within a short segment of DNA near the heldup-a gene and support the hypothesis that the Beadex locus functions as a cis-acting negative regulatory element for the heldup-a gene.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 1343-1353
Author(s):  
W W Mattox ◽  
N Davidson

We isolated recombinant lambda phage clones spanning 49 kilobases of DNA which contain the Beadex and heldup-a loci of Drosophila melanogaster. These cloned DNAs were used to analyze the structure of eight dominant mutant alleles of the Beadex locus which show increased gene activity. A region, only 700 base pairs in length, is altered in each of these mutants. Six of the mutations have DNA insertions within this segment. Most of these insertions resemble retrovirus-like transposable elements. In one case (Beadex2) the inserted sequences are homologous to the gypsy transposon family. The other two Beadex alleles were induced by hybrid dysgenesis and suffered deletions which included at least part of the 700-base-pair segment. These deletions appear to have resulted from imprecise excision or deletion of a nearby P element found in the wild-type parental strain. Analysis of one heldup-a allele (heldup-aD30r) indicates that a similar P element-mediated event is responsible for this lesion. In this mutant, deletion of sequences no more than 1,600 base pairs from the Beadex locus accompanies the loss of heldup-a function. The deleted sequences in heldup-aD30r include the entire 700-base-pair segment within which at least part of the Beadex locus resides, yet these flies have no Beadex phenotype. This indicates that a functional heldup-a gene is necessary for expression of the Beadex phenotype. Together, these results suggest that the Beadex functional domain is contained within a short segment of DNA near the heldup-a gene and support the hypothesis that the Beadex locus functions as a cis-acting negative regulatory element for the heldup-a gene.


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