Open AccessA unique ribonucleoprotein complex assembles preferentially on ecdysone-responsive sites in Drosophila melanogaster.
Author(s) -
Sally Ann Amero,
Michael J. Matunis,
Erika Matunis,
Joel W. Hockensmith,
G Raychaudhuri,
Ann L. Beyer
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
molecular and cellular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.14
H-Index - 327
eISSN - 1067-8824
pISSN - 0270-7306
DOI - 10.1128/mcb.13.9.5323
Subject(s) - biology , ecdysone , polytene chromosome , drosophila melanogaster , ribonucleoprotein , rnase p , rna , transcription (linguistics) , heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein particle , transcription factor , rna binding protein , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , linguistics , philosophy
The protein on ecdysone puffs (PEP) is associated preferentially with active ecdysone-inducible puffs on Drosophila polytene chromosomes and contains sequence motifs characteristic of transcription factors and RNA-binding proteins (S. A. Amero, S. C. R. Elgin, and A. L. Beyer, Genes Dev. 5:188-200, 1991). PEP is associated with RNA in vivo, as demonstrated here by the sensitivity of PEP-specific chromosomal immunostaining in situ to RNase digestion and by the immunopurification of PEP in Drosophila cell extract with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) complexes. As revealed by sequential immunostaining, PEP is found on a subset of chromosomal sites bound by the HRB (heterogeneous nuclear RNA-binding) proteins, which are basic Drosophila hnRNPs. These observations lead us to suggest that a unique, PEP-containing hnRNP complex assembles preferentially on the transcripts of ecdysone-regulated genes in Drosophila melanogaster presumably to expedite the transcription and/or processing of these transcripts.