Dataset Information

Telomeric trans-silencing in Drosophila melanogaster: tissue specificity, development and functional interactions between non-homologous telomeres.

ABSTRACT: The study of P element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the telomeric Trans-Silencing Effect (TSE), a homology-dependent repression mechanism by which a P-transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequences, "TAS") has the capacity to repress in trans, in the female germline, a homologous P-lacZ transgene located in euchromatin. TSE can show variegation in ovaries, displays a maternal effect as well as an epigenetic transmission through meiosis and involves heterochromatin and RNA silencing pathways.Here, we analyze phenotypic and genetic properties of TSE. We report that TSE does not occur in the soma at the adult stage, but appears restricted to the female germline. It is detectable during development at the third instar larvae where it presents the same tissue specificity and maternal effect as in adults. Transgenes located in TAS at the telomeres of the main chromosomes can be silencers which in each case show the maternal effect. Silencers located at non-homologous telomeres functionally interact since they stimulate each other via the maternally-transmitted component. All germinally-expressed euchromatic transgenes tested, located on all major chromosomes, were found to be repressed by a telomeric silencer: thus we detected no TSE escaper. The presence of the euchromatic target transgene is not necessary to establish the maternal inheritance of TSE, responsible for its epigenetic behavior. A single telomeric silencer locus can simultaneously repress two P-lacZ targets located on different chromosomal arms.Therefore TSE appears to be a widespread phenomenon which can involve different telomeres and work across the genome. It can explain the P cytotype establishment by telomeric P elements in natural Drosophila populations.

SUBMITTER: Josse T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2547894 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Telomeric trans-silencing in Drosophila melanogaster: tissue specificity, development and functional interactions between non-homologous telomeres.

Josse Thibaut T Maurel-Zaffran Corinne C de Vanssay Augustin A Teysset Laure L Todeschini Anne-Laure AL Delmarre Valerie V Chaminade Nicole N Anxolabéhère Dominique D Ronsseray Stéphane S

PloS one 20080922 9

<h4>Background</h4>The study of P element repression in Drosophila melanogaster led to the discovery of the telomeric Trans-Silencing Effect (TSE), a homology-dependent repression mechanism by which a P-transgene inserted in subtelomeric heterochromatin (Telomeric Associated Sequences, "TAS") has the capacity to repress in trans, in the female germline, a homologous P-lacZ transgene located in euchromatin. TSE can show variegation in ovaries, displays a maternal effect as well as an epigenetic t ...[more]

PMID: 18813361

Similar Datasets

Project description:The X chromosome constitutes a unique genomic environment because it is present in one copy in males, but two copies in females. This simple fact has motivated several theoretical predictions with respect to how standing genetic variation on the X chromosome should differ from the autosomes. Unmasked expression of deleterious mutations in males and a lower census size are expected to reduce variation, while allelic variants with sexually antagonistic effects, and potentially those with a sex-specific effect, could accumulate on the X chromosome and contribute to increased genetic variation. In addition, incomplete dosage compensation of the X chromosome could potentially dampen the male-specific effects of random mutations, and promote the accumulation of X-linked alleles with sexually dimorphic phenotypic effects. Here we test both the amount and the type of genetic variation on the X chromosome within a population of Drosophila melanogaster, by comparing the proportion of X linked and autosomal trans-regulatory SNPs with a sexually concordant and discordant effect on gene expression. We find that the X chromosome is depleted for SNPs with a sexually concordant effect, but hosts comparatively more SNPs with a sexually discordant effect. Interestingly, the contrasting results for SNPs with sexually concordant and discordant effects are driven by SNPs with a larger influence on expression in females than expression in males. Furthermore, the distribution of these SNPs is shifted towards regions where dosage compensation is predicted to be less complete. These results suggest that intrinsic properties of dosage compensation influence either the accumulation of different types of trans-factors and/or their propensity to accumulate mutations. Our findings document a potential mechanistic basis for sex-specific genetic variation, and identify the X as a reservoir for sexually dimorphic phenotypic variation. These results have general implications for X chromosome evolution, as well as the genetic basis of sex-specific evolutionary change.

Dataset Information

Telomeric trans-silencing in Drosophila melanogaster: tissue specificity, development and functional interactions between non-homologous telomeres.

Publications

Telomeric trans-silencing in Drosophila melanogaster: tissue specificity, development and functional interactions between non-homologous telomeres.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets