Anchoring of Heterochromatin to the Nuclear Lamina Reinforces Dosage Compensation-Mediated Gene Repression.

ABSTRACT: Higher order chromosome structure and nuclear architecture can have profound effects on gene regulation. We analyzed how compartmentalizing the genome by tethering heterochromatic regions to the nuclear lamina affects dosage compensation in the nematode C. elegans. In this organism, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) binds both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription two-fold, thus balancing gene expression between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. X chromosome structure is disrupted by mutations in DCC subunits. Using X chromosome paint fluorescence microscopy, we found that X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are also disrupted when the mechanisms that anchor heterochromatin to the nuclear lamina are defective. Strikingly, the heterochromatic left end of

SUBMITTER: Snyder MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5045178 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature