Work

Blocking promiscuous activation at cryptic promoters directs cell type–specific gene expression

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: male germline stem cell lineage that a spermatocyte-specific zinc finger protein, Kumgang (Kmg), working with the chromatin remodeler dMi-2 prevents transcription of genes normally expressed only in somatic lineages. By blocking transcription from normally cryptic promoters, Kmg restricts activation by Aly, a component of the testis-meiotic arrest complex, to transcripts for male germ cell differentiation. Our results suggest that as new regions of the genome become open for transcription during terminal differentiation, blocking the action of a promiscuous activator on cryptic promoters is a critical mechanism for specifying precise gene activation.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.aal3096

Authors: Jongmin Kim, Chenggang Lu, Shrividhya Srinivasan, Stephan Awe, Alexander Brehm, Margaret T. Fuller

Institutions: Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, Philipps University of Marburg

Language: English

Topic: Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Regulation of Cell-Type Specific Transcription in Spermatocytes, G4483974955, Nikon A1Rsi resonant spectral confocal microscope, G8400849260, G8547346873