Related Experiment Videos
Developmentally regulated chromatin acetylation and histone H1(0) accumulation
D Seigneurin1, D Grunwald, J J Lawrence
1Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire du Cycle Cellulaire - INSERM U309, Institut Albert Bonniot, Faculté de Médecine, La Tronche, France.
The International Journal of Developmental Biology
|August 1, 1995
Summary
Histone acetylation influences gene expression during early development in Xenopus laevis. While hyperacetylation primes specific genes like histone H1(0) for transcription, cell-specific factors are crucial for their induced expression.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Epigenetics
- Gene Regulation
Background:
- Core histone acetylation is closely linked to gene expression.
- Histone H1(0) gene expression is developmentally regulated.
- Chromatin hyperacetylation can influence gene inducibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the influence of chromatin hyperacetylation on the developmentally regulated expression of the histone H1(0) gene.
- To analyze acetylated histone H4 isoforms and histone H1(0) accumulation during early Xenopus laevis development.
Main Methods:
- In situ immunodetection was used to analyze histone H1(0) and acetylated histone H4.
- Two developmental stages of Xenopus laevis were studied: gastrula and stage 27.
- Butyrate treatment was employed to induce gene expression.
Main Results:
- At the gastrula stage, histone H1(0) was not expressed and not inducible by butyrate.
- At stage 27, histone H1(0) was not expressed but was inducible by butyrate.
- Butyrate-induced histone H1(0) accumulation at stage 27 occurred in tissues normally expressing the protein later.
Conclusions:
- Histone acetylation may prime specific genes, including histone H1(0), for transcription in a cell-specific manner.
- Cell-specific factors are involved in the induced expression of developmentally regulated genes.
- Histone acetylation is a component of the regulatory pathway for specific gene expression during development.