A sequence motif within chromatin entry sites directs MSL establishment on the Drosophila X chromosome
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ABSTRACT: Dosage compensation serves as a model for understanding how chromatin-modification enzymes are targeted to initiate and maintain gene regulation. In Drosophila, the MSL complex associates with active genes specifically on the male X chromosome to acetylate histone H4 at lysine 16, and increase expression of most X-linked genes approximately two-fold. To date, no DNA sequence has been discovered to explain the specificity of MSL binding. We previously hypothesized that sequence-specific targeting occurs at initiation or “chromatin entry sites”, but binding to the majority of sites is sequence-independent. Here we characterize more than 150 potential entry sites by ChIP-chip and ChIP-seq and discover a common GA-rich MSL recognition element (MRE). The motif is only slightly enriched on the X chromosome (~2 fold), but this is doubled when considering its preferential location within or 3’ to active X-linked genes (>4 fold enrichment). When inserted on an autosome, a newly identified site can direct local MSL spreading to flanking active genes on the autosome. These results provide strong evidence for both sequence-dependent and -independent steps in MSL targeting of dosage compensation to the male X chromosome.
ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster
PROVIDER: GSE11485 | GEO | 2008/08/22
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA106411
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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