Drosophila melanogaster linker histone dH1 is required for transposon silencing and to preserve genome integrity.

ABSTRACT: Histone H1 is an intrinsic component of chromatin, whose important contribution to chromatin structure is well-established in vitro. Little is known, however, about its functional roles in vivo. Here, we have addressed this question in Drosophila, a model system offering many advantages since it contains a single dH1 variant. For this purpose, RNAi was used to efficiently deplete dH1 in flies. Expression-profiling shows that dH1 depletion affects expression of a relatively small number of genes in a regional manner. Furthermore, depletion up-regulates inactive genes, preferentially those located in heterochromatin, while active euchromatic genes are down-regulated, suggesting that the contribution of dH1 to transcription regulation is mainly structural, organizing chromatin for proper gene

SUBMITTER: Vujatovic O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3384340 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature