Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2025
11:11
Desthiobiotin-Streptavidin-Affinity Mediated Purification of RNA-Interacting Proteins in Mesothelioma Cells
Published on: April 25, 2018
8.1K
lncRNA read-through regulates the BX-C insulator Fub-1
Airat Ibragimov1,2, Xin Yang Bing3, Yulii V Shidlovskii4,5
1Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States.
Elife
|August 29, 2023
Summary
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression. A specific lncRNA from the Fub-1 boundary inactivates its own insulator activity, enabling Ultrabithorax gene expression in specific segments.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Epigenetics
- RNA Biology
Background:
- Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are abundant but functionally understudied.
- The Bithorax complex (BX-C) controls segmental identity in animals.
- Insulator elements regulate gene expression by blocking enhancer-promoter interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of the lncRNA transcribed from the Fub-1 boundary.
- To understand the segmental regulation of the Ultrabithorax (Ubx) gene.
- To elucidate the mechanism by which the Fub-1 boundary's insulating activity is modulated.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Fub-1 boundary structure and function.
- Investigation of lncRNA expression from the Fub-1 HS2 promoter.
- Functional assays to assess insulator activity and enhancer bypass.
Main Results:
- The Fub-1 boundary contains an insulator (HS1) and an lncRNA promoter (HS2).
- Expression of Fub-1 lncRNAs from HS2 inactivates the HS1 insulator activity in a segmental manner.
- This inactivation requires the HS2 promoter to be oriented towards HS1, causing read-through transcription.
Conclusions:
- Fub-1 lncRNAs play a crucial role in the segmental regulation of gene expression.
- lncRNA transcription can directly modulate the function of nearby regulatory elements like insulators.
- This provides a novel mechanism for controlling gene expression during development.
Keywords:
CTCFD. melanogasterFub-1bithoraxchromatin boundarychromosomesdevelopmental biologygene expressioninsulatorlncRNAMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:39lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs
8.6K
In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA...
8.6K
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
6.3K
Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in a cell's phenotype without changing the DNA sequences. It provides a form of memory for the differential gene expression pattern to maintain cell lineage, position-effect variegation, dosage compensation, and maintenance of chromatin structures such as telomeres and centromeres. For example, the structure and location of the centromere on chromosomes are epigenetically inherited. Its functionality is not dictated or ensured by the underlying...
6.3K
01:58X-Inactivation
38.8K
The human X chromosome contains over ten times the number of genes as in the Y chromosome. Since males have only one X chromosome, and females have two, one might expect females to produce twice as many of the proteins, with undesirable results.
38.8K
01:23Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
943
The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the...
943
02:02Cis-regulatory Sequences
9.9K
Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...
9.9K
02:24Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
22.8K
Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
22.8K