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Updated: May 2, 2026

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ChIP using Drosophila tissue
Published on: March 23, 2012
The Drosophila MI-2 chromatin-remodeling factor regulates higher-order chromatin structure and cohesin dynamics in
Barbara Fasulo1, Renate Deuring, Magdalena Murawska
1Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America.
Abstract:
dMi-2 is a highly conserved ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling factor that regulates transcription and cell fates by altering the structure or positioning of nucleosomes. Here we report an unanticipated role for dMi-2 in the regulation of higher-order chromatin structure in Drosophila. Loss of dMi-2 function causes salivary gland polytene chromosomes to lose their characteristic banding pattern and appear more condensed than normal. Conversely, increased expression of dMi-2 triggers decondensation of polytene chromosomes accompanied by a significant increase in nuclear volume; this effect is relatively rapid and is dependent on the ATPase activity of dMi-2. Live analysis revealed that dMi-2 disrupts interactions between the aligned chromatids of salivary gland polytene chromosomes. dMi-2 and the cohesin complex are enriched at sites of active transcription; fluorescence-recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) assays showed that dMi-2 decreases stable association of cohesin with polytene chromosomes. These findings demonstrate that dMi-2 is an important regulator of both chromosome condensation and cohesin binding in interphase cells.
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