Differential usage of two, distinct DNA-binding domains regulates tissue-specific occupancy of the pioneer factor Zelda.

ABSTRACT: Pioneer transcription factors act at the top of gene-regulatory networks by promoting accessible chromatin at the cis-regulatory regions that drive gene expression. Despite their ability to bind closed chromatin, pioneer factors occupy distinct binding sites in different tissues. The pioneer factor Zelda promotes the undifferentiated fate in both the early Drosophila embryo and in the neural stem cells (neuroblasts) of the larval brain. Tissue-specific binding by Zelda identifies cell-type specific enhancers, which are enriched for different DNA-sequence motifs. We investigated the features that promoted cell-type specific occupancy by testing the role of conserved, structured protein domains in the capacity of Zelda to promote the embryonic and neuroblast cell fates. We unex

SUBMITTER: Torres-Zelada EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632342 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature