SUMOylation is essential for sex-specific assembly and function of the Caenorhabditis elegans dosage compensation complex on X chromosomes.

ABSTRACT: The essential process of dosage compensation equalizes X-chromosome gene expression between Caenorhabditis elegans XO males and XX hermaphrodites through a dosage compensation complex (DCC) that is homologous to condensin. The DCC binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription by half. Here, we show that posttranslational modification by the SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) conjugation pathway is essential for sex-specific assembly and function of the DCC on X. Depletion of SUMO in vivo severely disrupts binding of particular DCC subunits and causes changes in X-linked gene expression similar to those caused by deleting genes encoding DCC subunits. Three DCC subunits are SUMOylated, and SUMO depletion preferentially reduces their binding to X, suggesting that SU

SUBMITTER: Pferdehirt RR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3791726 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature