Abstract
BOTH position-effect variegation (PEV)1,2 in Drosophila and telomeric position-effect in yeast (TPE)3–5 result from the mosaic inactivation of genes relocated next to a block of centromeric heterochromatin or next to telomeres. In many aspects, these phenomena are analogous to other epigenetic silencing mechan-isms, such as the control of homeotic gene clusters6, X-chromo-some inactivation7 and imprinting in mammals8, and mating-type control in yeast5. Dominant mutations that suppress or enhance PEV are thought to encode either chromatin proteins or factors that directly affect chromatin structure1. We have identified an insertional mutation in Drosophila that enhances PEV and reduces transcription of the gene in the eye–antenna imaginal disc. The gene corresponds to that encoding the transcriptional regulator RPD3 in yeast9,10, and to a human histone deacetylase11. In yeast, RRD3-deletion strains show enhanced TPE, suggesting a conserved role of the histone deacetylase RPD3 in counteracting genomic silencing. This function of RPD3, which is in contrast to the general correlation between histone acetylation and increased transcription, might be due to a specialized chromatin structure at silenced loci.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Reuter, G. & Spierer, P. BioEssays 14, 605–612 (1992).
Karpen, G. H. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev 4, 281–291 (1994).
Gottschling, D. E., Aparicio, O. M., Billington, B. L. & Zakian, V. A. Cell 63, 751–762 (1990).
Aparicio, O. M., Billington, B. L. & Gottschling, D. E. Cell 66, 1279–1287 (1991).
Laurenson, P. & Rine, J. Microbiol. Rev. 56, 543–560 (1992).
Paro, R. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 5, 999–1005 (1993).
Gartler, S. M. & Riggs, A. D. Annu. Rev. Genet. 17, 155–190 (1983).
Solter, D. Annu. Rev. Genet. 22, 127–146 (1988).
Vidal, M. & Gaber, R. F. Mol. Cell. Biol. 11, 12 6317–6327 (1991).
McKenzie, E. A. et al. Mol. Gen. Genet. 240, 374–386 (1993).
Taunton, J., Hassig, C. A. & Schreiber, S. L. Science 272, 408–411 (1996).
Brown, N. H. & Kafatos, F. C. J. Mol. Biol. 203, 425–437 (1988).
Renauld, H. et al. Genes. Dev. 7, 1133–1145 (1993).
Turner, B. M. J. Cell Sci. 99, 13–20 (1990).
Wolffe, A. P. & Pruss, D. Cell 84, 817–819 (1996).
Brownell, J. E. & Allis, C. D. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 6, 176–184 (1996).
Braunstein, M., Rose, A. B., Holmes, S. G., Allis, C. D. & Broach, J. R. Genes Dev. 7, 592–604 (1993).
Turner, B. M., Birley, A. J. & Lavender, J. Cell 69, 375–384 (1992).
Jeppesen, P. & Turner, B. M. Cell 74, 281–289 (1993).
Brownell, J. E. et al. Cell 84, 843–851 (1996).
Sussel, L., Vannier, D. & Shore, D. Genetics 141, 873–888 (1995).
Braunstein, M., Sobel, R. E., Allis, C. D., Turner, B. M. & Broach, J. R. Mol. Cell. Biol. 16, 4349–4356 (1996).
Rundlett, S. E. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 93, 13723–13728 (1996).
Sobel, R. E., Cook, R. G., Perry, C. A., Annunziato, A. T. & Allis, C. D. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 92, 1237–1241 (1995).
Masucci, J. D., Miltenberger, R. J. & Hoffmann, F. M. Genes Dev. 4, 2011–2023 (1990).
Seum, C. et al. Development 122, 1949–1956 (1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rubertis, F., Kadosh, D., Henchoz, S. et al. The histone deacetylase RPD3 counteracts genomic silencing in Drosophila and yeast. Nature 384, 589–591 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/384589a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/384589a0
This article is cited by
-
Heterochromatin formation in Drosophila requires genome-wide histone deacetylation in cleavage chromatin before mid-blastula transition in early embryogenesis
Chromosoma (2020)
-
Molecular characterization of class I histone deacetylases and their expression in response to thermal and oxidative stresses in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum
Genetica (2019)
-
Neuroepigenetic signatures of age and sex in the living human brain
Nature Communications (2019)
-
Dynamics of Sir3 spreading in budding yeast: secondary recruitment sites and euchromatic localization
The EMBO Journal (2011)
-
Dynamic regulation of alternative splicing and chromatin structure in Drosophila gonads revealed by RNA-seq
Cell Research (2010)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.