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Polycomb group repression reduces DNA accessibility.

D P Fitzgerald1, W Bender

  • 1Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.

Molecular and Cellular Biology
|September 5, 2001
PubMed
Summary
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Polycomb group proteins repress genes by altering chromatin structure in Drosophila. This study provides direct evidence that Polycomb repression restricts DNA accessibility, impacting gene transcription and recombination.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Polycomb group proteins are crucial for maintaining gene silencing.
  • Their role in altering chromatin structure for long-term gene repression is hypothesized but lacks direct evidence.
  • The bithorax complex in Drosophila melanogaster is a key target for Polycomb group proteins.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide direct evidence for Polycomb group proteins altering chromatin structure.
  • To investigate the impact of Polycomb repression on DNA accessibility in the bithorax complex.
  • To compare Polycomb-mediated silencing with SIR silencing in yeast.

Main Methods:

  • Assessing DNA accessibility using three distinct assays: Gal4-activated RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription, bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase (T7RNAP) transcription, and FLP-mediated site-specific recombination.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Testing accessibility across Polycomb-repressed segments within the bithorax complex.
  • Examining P insertions within the bithorax complex to assess the widespread nature of the Polycomb effect.

    • Main Results:

    • All three DNA accessibility assays showed restricted or blocked activity in Polycomb-repressed segments of the bithorax complex.
    • Control sites outside the bithorax complex permitted normal activity for all tested processes.
    • The Polycomb-induced accessibility defect was observed to be widespread across target genes.

    Conclusions:

    • Polycomb group proteins directly alter chromatin structure, leading to reduced DNA accessibility.
    • This reduced accessibility is a key mechanism for Polycomb-mediated long-term gene repression in Drosophila.
    • While similar to SIR silencing in yeast regarding accessibility, Polycomb repression does not alter superhelix density of excised episomes.