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Promoter competition as a mechanism of transcriptional interference mediated by retrotransposons
Author(s) -
Conte Caroline,
Dastugue Bernard,
Vaury Chantal
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1093/emboj/cdf367
Subject(s) - biology , retrotransposon , enhancer , promoter , genetics , gene , drosophila melanogaster , tata box , transcriptional regulation , regulation of gene expression , regulatory sequence , trans acting , long terminal repeat , gene expression , transposable element , mutant
Enhancers can function over great distances and interact with almost any kind of promoter, but insulators or promoter competition generally limit their effect to a single gene. We provide in vivo evidence that retroelements may establish promoter competition with their neighboring genes and restrict the range of action of an enhancer. We report that the retroelement Idefix from Drosophila melanogaster inhibits white gene expression in testes by a promoter competition mechanism that does not occur in the eyes. The sequence specificity of the two TATA‐less promoters of white and Idefix is a prime determinant in the competition that takes place in tissues where both are transcriptionally active. This study brings to light a novel mechanism whereby transcriptional interference by an active retrotransposon may perturb expression of neighboring genes. This capacity to interfere with the transcriptional regulation of their host, together with the facts that retroelements preferentially move within the germline and do not excise to replicate, suggest that these elements are cis ‐regulatory sequences able to imprint specific and heritable controls essential for eukaryotic gene regulation.