A hypersensitive site in hsp70 chromatin requires adjacent not internal DNA sequence

Nuclease-hypersensitive sites in chromatin exist at the 5' side of many eukaryotic genes. To gain some understanding of the molecular basis of these hypersensitive sites, we have now examined the pair of sites upstream of the Drosophila hsp70 gene in a series of plasmids that contain deletions in the hypersensitive region and have been transformed into yeast cells. Hypersensitive sites 5' to a Drosophila hsp70 gene are preserved when this gene is introduced into yeast by transformation. We find that a yeast strain containing a plasmid in which the deletion extends through the first hypersensitive site still displays the normal pair of hypersensitive sites, so DNA sequences over which the first hypersensitive site is centred are not required for hypersensitivity at this position and the site can form over a foreign DNA sequence juxtaposed against this deletion end point. Deletions progressing further into the region bracketed by the pair of 5' hypersensitive sites eliminate the first hypersensitive site and alter the downstream site. We propose that the hypersensitive sites are generated through the binding of a protein that renders flanking sequences more accessible to nucleases, perhaps by preventing normal chromatin packaging.     

从EST出发克隆人基因组Xq13区段一个候选基因的初步研究

人类基因组表达序列筛选是寻找候选基因的重要路线之一，外显子陷阱法，ｃＤＮＡ直接筛筛选法，它们可分别根据表达序列的结构及表达特点进行筛选，ＥＳＴ是表达图的位标，它们是一些位点专一的表达序列位标，根据ＥＳＴ的特征，在国内首次建立了一种从ＥＳＴ出发的筛选候选基因的新方法，用睦方法已在人Ｘ染色体Ｘｑ１３区段筛选得到了一个新的ｃＤＮＡ，总测序徇的１３９８ｂｐ包含了完整的３末端。     

The gene for theta-globin is transcribed in human fetal erythroid tissues

A new gene like the alpha-globin gene has been identified in higher primates at the 3' end of the alpha-globin gene cluster. There is some controversy as to whether this gene, theta, is a functional globin gene or a non-functional pseudogene. The high degree of sequence conservation displayed by theta between primates and various mammals, such as horse and rabbit, suggests that this gene is functional in some species. Furthermore, theta encodes a 141-amino-acid polypeptide in sequence similar to alpha-globin and appears to possess functional RNA-processing signals. But the promoter region of theta is unlike the other globin genes because its CCAAT and ATA box sequences are displaced from the coding sequence by the insertion of a 200-base-pair GC-rich sequence. We demonstrate here the presence of theta-globin messenger RNA in human fetal erythroid tissue, but not in adult erythroid or other non-erythroid tissues. Furthermore, theta-globin mRNA is detectable in significant amounts in a human erythroleukaemic cell line. These results predict that theta-globin protein will be found in the early stages of human fetal development. Surprisingly, the promoter sequence of theta-globin does not correspond to the CCAAT and ATA box sequences of the gene but rather lies within the adjacent GC-rich sequence, resulting in a heterogeneous series of mRNA 5' ends 50-10 base pairs to 5' of the initiation codon. This type of promoter is reminiscent of that found in housekeeping genes such as adenine deaminase and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase.     

Organization and sequence studies of the 17-piece chicken conalbumin gene

The conalbumin gene has been cloned and shown to consist of at least 17 exons approximately 60-200 base pairs long. The DNA sequence upstream from the region coding for the 5' end of the mRNA shows similarities with sequences present in homologous positions in other genes. High and low frequency repetitive sequences are found both upstream from the conalbumin gene and within one intron.     

A conserved sequence in the immunoglobulin J kappa-C kappa intron: possible enhancer element

Several functionally important genetic elements (such as the TATA box, mRNA splice sequences, poly(A) addition signal) were first detected as short segments of unexplained sequence homology within non-coding regions of different genes. A short region of unknown sequence in the intron between the human J kappa and C kappa immunoglobulin coding regions was found to be sufficiently homologous to the corresponding segment of the mouse gene to form stable heteroduplexes. Although no specific function has yet been definitely ascribed to this region (which we call the kappa intron conserved region, or KICR), some functional significance has been inferred from the findings that (1) activation of B lymphocytes induces a DNase hypersensitivity site in this region and (2) deletions including this region reduce expression of kappa genes introduced into lymphoid cells. To delineate the KICR more precisely and to test the generality of the sequence conservation in a third species, we have sequenced this region of the human and mouse genes and have examined the corresponding region of a recently cloned rabbit kappa gene. We find a segment of about 130 base pairs (bp) that shows striking conservation in all three species, demonstrating homology significantly higher than within the C kappa coding region itself. Two short sequences from the J kappa-C kappa intron that were noted by other investigators to be homologous to proposed 'enhancer' sequences both lie within the conserved region.     

Characterisation of deletions which affect the expression of fetal globin genes in man.

Deletions in the DNA of individuals with hereditary persistence of fetal haemoglobin (HPFH) and 8 beta-thalassaemia have been mapped as a means of identifying regulatory sequences involved in the switch from fetal to adult globin gene expression. The end points of these deletions have been precisely located with respect to restriction endonuclease cleavage sites within and surrounding the gamma-, delta- and beta-globin genes in normal human DNA and the deletion maps were used to obtain definitive evidence for the physical linkage of the fetal and adult beta-like globin genes in the order 5'Ggamma-Agamma-delta-beta 3'. Correlation of haematological data and the location of deletions in two cases of HPFH and one case of deltabeta-thalassaemia suggest that a region of DNA located near the 5'-end of the delta-globin gene may be involved in the suppression in cis of gamma-globin gene expression in adults. The interpretation of a second case of deltabeta-thalassaemia is complicated by the fact that the deletion removes the Agamma-gene in addition to the region near the 5'-end of the delta-globin gene.     

Unusual sequences in the murine immunoglobulin mu-delta heavy-chain region

The delta heavy (H) chain of mouse immunoglobulin D (IgD) is unusual both in its structure and in its differential expression relative to immunoglobulin M (IgM; reviewed in ref. 1). The region of DNA between IgM and IgD H-chain constant-region genes is probably implicated in this control. So far only fragments of the area have been sequenced. Now, however, we present the complete sequence as well as the sequence of the introns of the C delta gene. We have found several interesting features (Fig. 1), including an open reading frame (ORF) between Cmu and C delta which encodes 146 amino acids that might represent a previously unsuspected domain-like protein; three blocks of simple repetitive sequences; a 162-base pair (bp) unique-sequence inverted repeat; and a domain-like pseudogene in the large intron of C delta. We have not found, however, any sequence 5' of C delta resembling the switch (S) recombination sequences associated with class switching in other heavy chains. Moreover, we have determined the 3' deletion end point of an IgD-producing myeloma and find no sequences reminiscent of switch sites nearby.     

GLI3 zinc-finger gene interrupted by translocations in Greig syndrome families.

The Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome (GCPS) is an autosomal dominant disorder affecting limb and craniofacial development in humans. GCPS-affected individuals are characterized by postaxial polysyndactyly of hands, preaxial polysyndactyly of feet, macroephaly, a broad base of the nose with mild hypertelorism and a prominent forehead. The genetic locus has been pinpointed to chromosome 7p13 by three balanced translocations associated with GCPS in different families. This assignment is corroborated by the detection of two sporadic GCPS cases carrying overlapping deletions in 7p13 (ref. 7), as well as by tight linkage of GCPS to the epidermal growth factor receptor gene in 7p12-13 (ref. 8). Of the genes that map to this region, those encoding T cell receptor-gamma, interferon-beta 2, epidermal growth factor receptor, and Hox1.4, a potential candidate gene for GCPS, have been excluded from the region in which the deletions overlap. Here we show that two of the three translocations interup the GLI3 gene, a zinc-finger gene of the GLI-Krüppel family already localized to 7p13 (refs 5, 6). The breakpoints are within the first third of the coding sequence. In the third translocation, chromosome 7 is broken at about 10 kilobases downstream of the 3' end of GLI3. Our results indicate that mutations disturbing normal GLI3 expression may have a causative role in GCPS.     

Activating protein factor binds in vitro to upstream control sequences in heat shock gene chromatin

DNA sequences, important for the control of Drosophila heat shock gene expression, are packaged in chromatin in a nuclease hypersensitive configuration. Recently, two protein-binding (exonuclease-resistant) sites which cover the TATA box sequence and an upstream control element were shown to occur in vivo amidst the 5' terminal hypersensitive regions of several heat shock genes. Protein-binding at the TATA box is independent of heat shock, but the binding at the upstream element is heat shock dependent, and it was proposed that a heat shock activator protein, HAP, positively regulates the genes. Here, I report the detection of HAP activity in heat shocked cell extracts by reconstituting specific binding to hsp82 gene chromatin in vitro. Inhibition of the binding by free DNA from the 5' region of heat shock genes implies a coordinate regulation of the gene family through HAP interaction with the upstream heat shock consensus sequence. Furthermore, the special ease of induction of the hsp82 gene over other heat shock genes can be explained in molecular terms by the higher affinity of HAP for the hsp82 binding site, which contains a 28 base sequence with almost perfect dyad symmetry, GAAGCCTCTAGAAG/TTTCTAGAGACTTC.