Repression of the Hox gene <i>abd-A</i> by ELAV-mediated Transcriptional Interference

Article Article scientifique Article Repression of the Hox gene <i>abd-A</i> by ELAV-mediated Transcriptional Interference eng 2021-11-15 author Castro Alvarez Javier José Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 779600 Javier Castro Alvarez author Revel Maxime 0000-0002-6966-0109 Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 950916 author Carrasco Judit 0000-0002-4619-9452 Max-Planck-Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Biology, Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg, Germany. author Cleard Karch Fabienne 0000-0003-0694-4822 Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 23778 author Pauli Daniel 0000-0001-9554-9159 Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 22366 author Hilgers Valérie 0000-0002-4551-0931 Max-Planck-Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany. author Karch François 0000-0003-4722-5170 Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 26338 Département de génétique et évolution (Genev) (BIANI) author Maeda Robert 0000-0001-6555-1215 Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 539408 Département de génétique et évolution (Genev) (BIANI) e1009843 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009843 34780465 1553-7390 PMC8629391 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009843 Intergenic transcription is a common feature of eukaryotic genomes and performs important and diverse cellular functions. Here, we investigate the iab-8 ncRNA from the Drosophila Bithorax Complex and show that this RNA is able to repress the transcription of genes located at its 3' end by a sequence-independent, transcriptional interference mechanism. Although this RNA is expressed in the early epidermis and CNS, we find that its repressive activity is limited to the CNS, where, in wild-type embryos, it acts on the Hox gene, abd-A, located immediately downstream of it. The CNS specificity is achieved through a 3' extension of the transcript, mediated by the neuronal-specific, RNA-binding protein, ELAV. Loss of ELAV activity eliminates the 3' extension and results in the ectopic activation of abd-A. Thus, a tissue-specific change in the length of a ncRNA is used to generate a precise pattern of gene expression in a higher eukaryote. Dewey 590 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 403222702– SFB 1381 Swiss National Science Foundation Multiple Layers of Complexity in the Regulation of the Bithorax Complex in Drosophila 149634 CH Swiss National Science Foundation Molecules and mechanisms regulating the post-mating response in Drosophila 192621 CH European Commission Mechanism and functional impact of ultra-long 3’ UTRs in the Drosophila nervous system 803258 Neuro-UTR EU H2020 44 Département de génétique et évolution 162 false 826 Groupe Nagoshi PLOS genetics 17 11 f2573496-40fe-4ffb-8a5f-c0d9ed883044 Article (Published version) Public journal.pgen.1009843.pdf 2310350 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 fc570444438d00098473a64bb83599d5ce6d3adfa0ca6044890b5680f0264062 openAccess Faculté des sciences / Section de biologie / Département de génétique et évolution

Title	Published in	Year	Views	Downloads

Exploring the Physiological, Behavioral and Molecular Diversity of Reproductive Strategies in Drosophilids		2025	183	0
Repression of the Hox gene abd-A by ELAV-mediated Transcriptional Interference	PLOS genetics	2021	13	26

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