Inhibition of chromatin remodeling by polycomb group protein posterior sex combs is mechanistically distinct from nucleosome binding.

ABSTRACT: Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins are essential regulators of development that maintain gene silencing in Drosophila and mammals through alterations of chromatin structure. One key PcG protein, Posterior Sex Combs (PSC), is part of at least two complexes: Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) and dRING-Associated Factors (dRAF). PRC1-class complexes compact chromatin and inhibit chromatin remodeling, while dRAF has E3 ligase activity for ubiquitylation of histone H2A; activities of both complexes can inhibit transcription. The noncovalent effects of PRC1-class complexes on chromatin can be recapitulated by PSC alone, and the region of PSC required for these activities is essential for PSC function in vivo. To understand how PSC interacts with chromatin to exert its repressive effects, we compar

SUBMITTER: Lo SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3037448 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature