Project description:Genome wide localization of Kumgang, dMi-2, and Aly in Drosophila melanogaster testes were evaluated by ChIP-Seq in wild-type and kmg knock down testes. / Title: Blocking promiscuous activation at cryptic promoters directs cell type–specific gene expression / Abstract: To selectively express cell type–specific transcripts during development, it is critical to maintain genes required for other lineages in a silent state. Here, we show in the Drosophila 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.
Project description:Transcriptional changes assayed with two bilogical replicates in wild type and RNAi mediated insulator knock-downs RNAi mediated insulator knock-downs cause changes in the H3K27me3 levels and spread of Topoisomerase II In order to understand the role of insulators in gene expression and regulation we used Drosophila Kc cells to knock-down single and multiple insulators in combination to assay for transcriptional changes.
