Project description:The C2H2 zinc finger is the most prevalent DNA-binding motif in the mammalian proteome, with DNA-binding domains usually containing more tandem fingers than are needed for stable sequence-specific DNA recognition. To examine the reason for the frequent presence of multiple zinc fingers, we generated mice lacking finger 1 or finger 4 of the 4-finger DNA-binding domain of Ikaros, a critical regulator of lymphopoiesis and leukemogenesis. Each mutant strain exhibited a specific subset of the phenotypes observed with Ikaros null mice. Of particular relevance, fingers 1 and 4 contributed to distinct stages of B- and T-cell development and finger 4 was selectively required for tumor suppression in thymocytes and in a new model of BCR-ABL+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia. These results, combined with transcriptome profiling (this GEO submission: RNA-Seg of whole thymus from wt and the two ZnF mutants), reveal that different subsets of fingers within multi-finger transcription factors can regulate distinct target genes and biological functions, and they demonstrate that selective mutagenesis can facilitate efforts to elucidate the functions and mechanisms of action of this prevalent class of factors. Ikaros ChIP-Seq from Whole Thymus comparing wt, Ikaros-ZnF1-/- mutant and Ikaros-ZnF4-/- mutant
Project description:The C2H2 zinc finger is the most prevalent DNA-binding motif in the mammalian proteome, with DNA-binding domains usually containing more tandem fingers than are needed for stable sequence-specific DNA recognition. To examine the reason for the frequent presence of multiple zinc fingers, we generated mice lacking finger 1 or finger 4 of the 4-finger DNA-binding domain of Ikaros, a critical regulator of lymphopoiesis and leukemogenesis. Each mutant strain exhibited a specific subset of the phenotypes observed with Ikaros null mice. Of particular relevance, fingers 1 and 4 contributed to distinct stages of B- and T-cell development and finger 4 was selectively required for tumor suppression in thymocytes and in a new model of BCR-ABL+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia. These results, combined with transcriptome profiling (this GEO submission: RNA-Seg of whole thymus from wt and the two ZnF mutants), reveal that different subsets of fingers within multi-finger transcription factors can regulate distinct target genes and biological functions, and they demonstrate that selective mutagenesis can facilitate efforts to elucidate the functions and mechanisms of action of this prevalent class of factors.
Project description:Cys2-His2 zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) are the largest group of transcription factors in higher metazoans. A complete characterization of these ZFPs and their associated target sequences is pivotal to fully annotate transcriptional regulatory networks in metazoan genomes. As a first step in this process, we have characterized the DNA-binding specificities of 130 Zinc finger sets from Drosophila melanogaster using a bacterial one-hybrid system. This data set contains the DNA-binding specificities for at least one encoded ZFP from 71 unique genes and 22 alternate splice isoforms. This represents the largest block of characterized ZFPs from any organism described to date. These recognition motifs can be used to predict genomic binding sites and potential regulatory targets for these factors within the fruit fly genome. We have characterized subsets of fingers from these ZFPs to define the correct orientation and register of the zinc fingers on their defined binding sites. By correlating individual fingers with motif subsites, we can assign finger specificity throughout each ZFP. This reveals the diversity of recognition potential within the naturally-occurring zinc fingers of a single organism, where the characterized fingers can specify 47 of the 64 possible DNA triplets. To confirm the utility of our finger recognition models, we have employed subsets of Drosophila fingers in combination with an existing archive of zinc finger modules to create ZFPs with novel DNA-binding specificity. These finger combinations can be used to create novel functional Zinc Finger Nucleases for editing vertebrate genomes. Illumina sequencing of Barcoded Binding sites obtained after B1H selection of Cys2-His2 zinc finger proteins cloned as a C-terminal fusions to the omega subunit of E. coli RNA polymerase in the B1H system.
Project description:The largest and most diverse class of eukaryotic transcription factors contain Cys2-His2 zinc fingers (C2H2-ZFs), each of which typically binds a DNA nucleotide triplet within a larger binding site. Frequent recombination and diversification of their DNA-contacting residues suggests that these zinc fingers play a prevalent role in adaptive evolution. Very little is known about the function and evolution of the vast majority of C2H2-ZFs, including whether they even bind DNA. We determined in vivo binding sites of 39 human C2H2-ZF proteins, and correlated them with potential functions for these proteins. We expressed GFP-tagged C2H2-ZF proteins in stable transgenic HEK293 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed as described before (Schmidt et al., Methods, 2009), and ChIP samples along with several control samples from different experimental batches were sequenced on Illumina HiSeq 2500. Reads were mapped to hg19 (GRCh37) assembly, and peaks were identified by MACS using an experiment-specific background that controls for various biases, such as the Sono-Seq effect as well as potential co-purification of targets of other (interacting) proteins.
Project description:The largest and most diverse class of eukaryotic transcription factors contain Cys2-His2 zinc fingers (C2H2-ZFs), each of which typically binds a DNA nucleotide triplet within a larger binding site. Frequent recombination and diversification of their DNA-contacting residues suggests that these zinc fingers play a prevalent role in adaptive evolution. Very little is known about the function and evolution of the vast majority of C2H2-ZFs, including whether they even bind DNA. We determined in vivo binding sites of 39 human C2H2-ZF proteins, and correlated them with potential functions for these proteins. We expressed GFP-tagged C2H2-ZF proteins in stable transgenic HEK293 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed as described before (Schmidt et al., Methods, 2009), and ChIP samples along with several control samples from different experimental batches were sequenced on Illumina HiSeq 2000. Reads were mapped to hg19 (GRCh37) assembly, and peaks were identified by MACS using an experiment-specific background that controls for various biases, such as the Sono-Seq effect as well as potential co-purification of targets of other (interacting) proteins.
Project description:The largest and most diverse class of eukaryotic transcription factors contain Cys2-His2 zinc fingers (C2H2-ZFs), each of which typically binds a DNA nucleotide triplet within a larger binding site. Frequent recombination and diversification of their DNA-contacting residues suggests that these zinc fingers play a prevalent role in adaptive evolution. Very little is known about the function and evolution of the vast majority of C2H2-ZFs, including whether they even bind DNA. We determined in vivo binding sites of 39 human C2H2-ZF proteins, and correlated them with potential functions for these proteins.