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Gene regulation

Grouped in silence

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 12, page 154 (2011)Cite this article

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The identity of anterior–posterior fly body segments is maintained by the repression of particular Hox genes by PcG proteins in spatially distinct domains. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization and immunostaining to Polycomb, Bantignies and colleagues found that Hox genes colocalize in PcG bodies, but only in those regions of the embryo or larva in which the Hox genes are repressed. Colocalization depends on PcG proteins and involves target genes — for example, Antennapedia (Antp) and Abdominal-B (AbdB) — that are up to 10 Mb apart.

Chromosome conformation capture on chip experiments confirmed the presence of long-range interactions: the chromosomal contact between Antp and AbdB was mediated by two AbdB PcG response elements (PREs), Fab7 and Mcp. When Fab7 is mutated, the expression of several genes, including Antp, is derepressed. This interaction between Antp and AbdB PREs is also physiologically relevant: target PREs have a PcG-dependent epigenetic mark and, in vivo, Fab7 or Mcp mutations enhance the homeotic phenotype of a sensitized Antp allele.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Bantignies, F. et al. Polycomb-dependent regulatory contacts between distant Hox loci in Drosophila. Cell 144, 214–226 (2011)

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  1. Tanita Casci
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Casci, T. Grouped in silence. Nat Rev Genet 12, 154 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2963

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