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Joel C Eissenberg

Publications and source records attributed to Joel C Eissenberg.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Cdk9 is an essential kinase in Drosophila that is required for heat shock gene expression, histone methylation and elongation factor recruitment.

Phosphorylation of the large RNA Polymerase II subunit C-terminal domain (CTD) is believed to be important in promoter clearance and for recruiting protein factors that function in messenger RNA synthesis and processing. P-TEFb is a protein kinase that targets the (CTD). The goal of this study was to identify chromatin modifications and associations that require P-TEFb activity in vivo. We knocked down the catalytic subunit of P-TEFb, Cdk9, in Drosophila melanogaster using RNA interference. Cdk9 knockdown flies die during metamorphosis. Phosphorylation at serine 2 and serine 5 of the CTD heptad repeat were both dramatically reduced in knockdown larvae. Hsp 70 mRNA induction by heat shock was attenuated in Cdk9 knockdown larvae. Both mono- and trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 were dramatically reduced, suggesting a link between CTD phosphorylation and histone methylation in transcribed chromatin in vivo. Levels of the chromo helicase protein CHD1 were reduced in Cdk9 knockdown chromosomes, suggesting that CHD1 is targeted to chromosomes through P-TEFb-dependent histone methylation. Dimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 was significantly reduced in knockdown larvae, implicating CTD phosphorylation in the regulation of this chromatin modification. Binding of the RNA Polymerase II elongation factor ELL was reduced in knockdown chromosomes, suggesting that ELL is recruited to active polymerase via CTD phosphorylation.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Drosophila Rtf1 functions in histone methylation, gene expression, and Notch signaling.

The Rtf1 subunit of the Paf1 complex is required for proper monoubiquitination of histone H2B and methylation of histone H3 on lysines 4 (H3K4) and 79 in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using RNAi, we examined the role of Rtf1 in histone methylation and gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster. We show that Drosophila Rtf1 (dRtf1) is required for proper gene expression and development. Furthermore, we show that RNAi-mediated reduction of dRtf1 results in a reduction in histone H3K4 trimethylation levels on bulk histones and chromosomes in vivo, indicating that the histone modification pathway via Rtf1 is conserved among yeast, Drosophila, and human. Recently, it was demonstrated that histone H3K4 methylation mediated via the E3 ligase Bre1 is critical for transcription of Notch target genes in Drosophila. Here we demonstrate that the dRtf1 component of the Paf1 complex functions in Notch signaling.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Regulation of the Drosophila melanogaster protein, enhancer of rudimentary, by casein kinase II.

The Drosophila melanogaster gene enhancer of rudimentary, e(r), encodes a conserved protein, ER. Most ER homologs share two casein kinase II (CKII) target sites. In D. melanogaster, these sites are T18 and S24. A third CKII site, T63, has been seen only in drosophilids. The conservation of these CKII sites, particularly T18 and S24, suggests a role for these residues in the function of the protein. To test this hypothesis, these positions were mutated either to alanine as a nonphosphorylated mimic or to glutamic acid as a phosphorylated mimic. The mutations were tested individually or in double or triple combinations for their ability to rescue either a wing truncation characteristic of the genotype e(r)(p1) r(hd1-12) or the synthetic lethal interaction between e(r)(p2) and the Notch allele N(nd-p). All of the substitutions as single mutations rescued both mutant phenotypes, arguing that individually the phosphorylation of the three residues does not affect ER activity. The double mutants T18A-S24A and T18E-S24E and the triple mutants T18A-S24A-T63A and T18E-S24E-T63E failed to rescue. Together the data support the following model for the regulation of ER by CKII. ER that is unphosphorylated at both T18A and S24 is inactive. CKII activates ER by phosphorylating either T18 or S24. Further phosphorylation to produce the doubly phosphorylated protein inactivates ER.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Leaving a mark: the many footprints of the elongating RNA polymerase II.

The elongation phase of transcription by RNA polymerase II involves a complex choreography of events besides the polymerization of RNA. In addition to coordinating the processing of the nascent transcript, elongating RNA polymerase II recruits histone methyltransferases to methylate lysines 4 and 36 of histone H3 in nucleosomes in the body of actively transcribed genes. Methylation at these sites is genetically implicated in marking actively transcribed genes. Recent studies link transcriptional elongation by RNA polymerase II to H3K9 methylation and the recruitment of the HP1 family protein HP1gamma. These findings expand the role for RNA polymerase II elongation in targeting chromatin modifications to include a histone methyl mark more commonly associated with gene silencing.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Divided loyalties: transdetermination and the genetics of tissue regeneration.

Most tissues contain cells capable of the self-renewal and differentiation necessary to maintain tissue and organ integrity. These somatic stem cells are generally thought to have limited developmental potential. The mechanisms that restrict cell fate decisions in somatic stem cells are only now being understood. This understanding will be important in the clinical exploitation of adult stem cells in tissue repair and replacement. Experiments performed over fifty years ago in Drosophila showed that developmental restriction could be relaxed in the proliferating larval cells that are destined to form the adult fly integument. This phenomenon, called transdetermination, can serve as a model for mechanisms of stem-cell commitment. A recent publication (1) sheds new light on the mechanism of transdetermination by demonstrating that loss of homeotic gene silencing leads to increased frequency of transdetermination. In addition, the authors link a specific signaling pathway induced by tissue regeneration to the relaxation of homeotic gene silencing. The data identify key mechanisms that control developmental homeostasis and cell fate restriction that could be manipulated to make somatic stem-cell engineering possible.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Functional genomics of histone modification and non-histone chromosomal proteins using the polytene chromosomes of Drosophila.

Knowing the genomic distribution of chromosomal proteins and of histone modifications provides essential insight into function. The giant polytene chromosomes of the Drosophila larval salivary glands provide a high-resolution genomic map with a resolution exceeded only by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Immunofluorescence localization of chromosomal proteins and specific post-translational modifications of histones is a simple and rapid tool for the functional genomics of chromosomal proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Marking time.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

ARNTL Transcription Factors↗
PubMed2006

Drosophila melanogaster holocarboxylase synthetase is a chromosomal protein required for normal histone biotinylation, gene transcription patterns, lifespan, and heat tolerance.

Post-translational modifications of histones play important roles in chromatin structure and genomic stability. Distinct lysine residues in histones are targets for covalent binding of biotin, catalyzed by holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) and biotinidase (BTD). Histone biotinylation has been implicated in heterochromatin structures, DNA repair, and mitotic chromosome condensation. To test whether HCS and BTD deficiency alters histone biotinylation and to characterize phenotypes associated with HCS and BTD deficiency, HCS- and BTD-deficient flies were generated by RNA interference (RNAi). Expression of HCS and BTD decreased by 65-90% in RNAi-treated flies, as judged by mRNA abundance, BTD activity, and abundance of HCS protein. Decreased expression of HCS and BTD caused decreased biotinylation of K9 and K18 in histone H3. This was associated with altered expression of 201 genes in HCS-deficient flies. Lifespan of HCS- and BTD-deficient flies decreased by up to 32% compared to wild-type controls. Heat tolerance decreased by up to 55% in HCS-deficient flies compared to controls, as judged by survival times; effects of BTD deficiency were minor. Consistent with this observation, HCS deficiency was associated with altered expression of 285 heat-responsive genes. HCS and BTD deficiency did not affect cold tolerance, suggesting stress-specific effects of chromatin remodeling by histone biotinylation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence that HCS-dependent histone biotinylation affects gene function and phenotype, suggesting that the complex phenotypes of HCS- and BTD-deficiency disorders may reflect chromatin structure changes.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Nipped-A, the Tra1/TRRAP subunit of the Drosophila SAGA and Tip60 complexes, has multiple roles in Notch signaling during wing development.

The Notch receptor controls development by activating transcription of specific target genes in response to extracellular signals. The factors that control assembly of the Notch activator complex on target genes and its ability to activate transcription are not fully known. Here we show, through genetic and molecular analysis, that the Drosophila Nipped-A protein is required for activity of Notch and its coactivator protein, mastermind, during wing development. Nipped-A and mastermind also colocalize extensively on salivary gland polytene chromosomes, and reducing Nipped-A activity decreases mastermind binding. Nipped-A is the fly homologue of the yeast Tra1 and human TRRAP proteins and is a key component of both the SAGA and Tip60 (NuA4) chromatin-modifying complexes. We find that, like Nipped-A, the Ada2b component of SAGA and the domino subunit of Tip60 are also required for mastermind function during wing development. Based on these results, we propose that Nipped-A, through the action of the SAGA and Tip60 complexes, facilitates assembly of the Notch activator complex and target gene transcription.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2005

Effects of sister chromatid cohesion proteins on cut gene expression during wing development in Drosophila.

The cohesin protein complex is a conserved structural component of chromosomes. Cohesin binds numerous sites along interphase chromosomes and is essential for sister chromatid cohesion and DNA repair. Here, we test the idea that cohesin also regulates gene expression. This idea arose from the finding that the Drosophila Nipped-B protein, a functional homolog of the yeast Scc2 factor that loads cohesin onto chromosomes, facilitates the transcriptional activation of certain genes by enhancers located many kilobases away from their promoters. We find that cohesin binds between a remote wing margin enhancer and the promoter at the cut locus in cultured cells, and that reducing the dosage of the Smc1 cohesin subunit increases cut expression in the developing wing margin. We also find that cut expression is increased by a unique pds5 gene mutation that reduces the binding of cohesin to chromosomes. On the basis of these results, we posit that cohesin inhibits long-range activation of the Drosophila cut gene, and that Nipped-B facilitates activation by regulating cohesin-chromosome binding. Such effects of cohesin on gene expression could be responsible for many of the developmental deficits that occur in Cornelia de Lange syndrome, which is caused by mutations in the human homolog of Nipped-B.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Human SRCAP and Drosophila melanogaster DOM are homologs that function in the notch signaling pathway.

The putative ATPase chromatin-remodeling machine SRCAP was identified in a yeast two-hybrid protein screen by interaction with the histone acetylase CBP. SRCAP is implicated in the transcriptional coactivation of cyclic AMP- and steroid-dependent promoters, but no natural chromosomal targets for SRCAP regulation have been identified. DOM is the unique SRCAP homolog in Drosophila melanogaster. The goal of this study was to test whether SRCAP is a functional homolog of DOM and to identify potential activities and targets of SRCAP in vivo. We show that human SRCAP complements recessive domino mutant phenotypes. This rescue depends on an intact ATPase homology domain. SRCAP colocalizes extensively with DOM on Drosophila polytene chromosomes and is recruited to sites of active transcription, such as steroid-regulated loci, but not to activated heat shock loci. We show that SRCAP recruits Drosophila CBP to ectopic chromosomal sites, providing the first evidence to suggest that SRCAP and CBP interact directly or indirectly on chromosomes. We show that DOM is a Notch pathway activator in Drosophila and that wild-type SRCAP-but not an ATPase domain mutant-can substitute for DOM in Notch-dependent wing development. We show that SRCAP potentiates Notch-dependent gene activation in HeLa cells. Taken together, these data implicate SRCAP and DOM in developmental gene activation.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2005

Mutational analysis of an RNA polymerase II elongation factor in Drosophila melanogaster.

The ELL family of proteins function in vitro as elongation factors for RNA polymerase II. Deletion studies have defined domains in mammalian ELL required for transcription elongation activity and RNA polymerase binding in vitro, for transformation of cultured cells when overexpressed, and for leukemogenesis and cell proliferation as part of a leukemic fusion protein. The goal of this study was to identify domains required for chromosome targeting and viability in the unique Drosophila ELL (dELL) protein. Here, we show that an N-terminal domain of dELL is necessary and sufficient for targeting to transcriptionally active puff sites in chromatin, supporting a role for this domain in recruiting dELL to elongating RNA polymerase II. We demonstrate that a central domain of dELL is required for rapid mobilization of ELL during the heat shock response, suggesting a regulatory function for this domain. Unexpectedly, transgenic dELL in which the N-terminal chromosome binding domain is deleted can complement the recessive lethality of mutations in ELL, suggesting that Drosophila ELL has an essential activity in development distinct from its role as an RNA polymerase II elongation factor.

Alleles↗
PubMed2004

Regulation of heat shock gene expression by RNA polymerase II elongation factor, Elongin A.

The elongation stage of transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) has emerged as an essential regulated step. Elongin A (EloA) is the largest subunit of the Elongin complex that can increase the catalytic rate of mRNA synthesis by Pol II. We recently demonstrated that the Elongin A homologue in Drosophila, dEloA, is essential and has properties consistent with those of a Pol II elongation factor in vivo. The goal of this study was to test whether dEloA is required for heat shock gene transcription, since heat shock gene expression is thought to be controlled at the level of Pol II elongation. Here, we demonstrate that dEloA is rapidly recruited to heat shock loci with Pol II in response to heat shock. Furthermore, through the use of RNA interference in vivo, we show that dEloA is required for the proper expression of one of these genes, HSP70, and that its requirement for heat shock gene expression is exerted after the initiation of transcription at heat shock loci. Our data represent the first demonstration of an essential role for an RNA polymerase II elongation factor in the regulation of heat shock gene expression in an animal model.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

cis-Acting determinants of heterochromatin formation on Drosophila melanogaster chromosome four.

The heterochromatic domains of Drosophila melanogaster (pericentric heterochromatin, telomeres, and the fourth chromosome) are characterized by histone hypoacetylation, high levels of histone H3 methylated on lysine 9 (H3-mK9), and association with heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1). While the specific interaction of HP1 with both H3-mK9 and histone methyltransferases suggests a mechanism for the maintenance of heterochromatin, it leaves open the question of how heterochromatin formation is targeted to specific domains. Expression characteristics of reporter transgenes inserted at different sites in the fourth chromosome define a minimum of three euchromatic and three heterochromatic domains, interspersed. Here we searched for cis-acting DNA sequence determinants that specify heterochromatic domains. Genetic screens for a switch in phenotype demonstrate that local deletions or duplications of 5 to 80 kb of DNA flanking a transposon reporter can lead to the loss or acquisition of variegation, pointing to short-range cis-acting determinants for silencing. This silencing is dependent on HP1. A switch in transgene expression correlates with a switch in chromatin structure, judged by nuclease accessibility. Mapping data implicate the 1360 transposon as a target for heterochromatin formation. We propose that heterochromatin formation is initiated at dispersed repetitive elements along the fourth chromosome and spreads for approximately 10 kb or until encountering competition from a euchromatic determinant.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

In vivo requirement of the RNA polymerase II elongation factor elongin A for proper gene expression and development.

A number of transcription factors that increase the catalytic rate of mRNA synthesis by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) have been purified from higher eukaryotes. Among these are the ELL family, DSIF, and the heterotrimeric elongin complex. Elongin A, the largest subunit of the elongin complex, is the transcriptionally active subunit, while the smaller elongin B and C subunits appear to act as regulatory subunits. While much is known about the in vitro properties of elongin A and other members of this class of elongation factors, the physiological role(s) of these proteins remain largely unclear. To elucidate in vivo functions of elongin A, we have characterized its Drosophila homologue (dEloA). dEloA associates with transcriptionally active puff sites within Drosophila polytene chromosomes and exhibits many of the expected biochemical and cytological properties consistent with a Pol II-associated elongation factor. RNA interference-mediated depletion of dEloA demonstrated that elongin A is an essential factor that is required for proper metamorphosis. Consistent with this observation, dEloA expression peaks during the larval stages of development, suggesting that this factor may be important for proper regulation of developmental events during these stages. The discovery of the role of elongin A in an in vivo model system defines the novel contribution played by RNA polymerase II elongation machinery in regulation of gene expression that is required for proper development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

dELL is an essential RNA polymerase II elongation factor with a general role in development.

Several eukaryotic proteins increase RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription rates in vitro. The relative contributions of these factors to gene expression in vivo is unknown. The ELL family of proteins promote Pol II elongation in vitro, and the Drosophila ELL homolog (dELL) is associated with Pol II at sites of transcription in vivo. The purpose of this study was to test whether an ELL family protein is required for gene expression in vivo. We show that dELL is encoded by the Suppressor of Triplo-lethal locus [Su(Tpl)]. We have characterized seven distinct mutant alleles of Su(Tpl) and show that a dELL transgene rescues recessive lethality of Su(Tpl). Su(Tpl) mutations cause abnormal embryonic segmentation and dominantly modify expression of diverse genes during development. These data show that an ELL family elongation factor is essential, acts broadly in development, and is not functionally redundant to other elongation factors in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗