Polycomb group-dependent, heterochromatin protein 1-independent, chromatin structures silence retrotransposons in somatic tissues outside ovaries.

ABSTRACT: Somatic cells are equipped with different silencing mechanisms that protect the genome against retrotransposons. In Drosophila melanogaster, a silencing pathway implicating the argonaute protein PIWI represses retrotransposons in cells surrounding the oocyte, whereas a PIWI-independent pathway is involved in other somatic tissues. Here, we show that these two silencing mechanisms result in distinct chromatin structures. Using sensor transgenes, we found that, in somatic tissues outside of the ovaries, these transgenes adopt a heterochromatic configuration implicating hypermethylation of H3K9 and K27. We identified the Polycomb repressive complexes (PRC1 and 2), but not heterochromatin protein 1 to be necessary factors for silencing. Once established, the compact structure is stably maintai

SUBMITTER: Dufourt J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3223077 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature