Open AccessThe Drosophila speciation factor HMR localizes to genomic insulator sites
Author(s) -
Thomas Andreas Gerland,
Bo Sun,
Pawel Smialowski,
A. Lukacs,
Andreas W. Thomae,
Axel Imhof
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0171798
Subject(s) - biology , drosophila melanogaster , heterochromatin , melanogaster , chromatin , genome , gene , transposable element , genetics , transcription factor , insulator (electricity) , ctcf , chromatin immunoprecipitation , microbiology and biotechnology , gene expression , promoter , enhancer , electrical engineering , engineering
Hybrid incompatibility between Drosophila melanogaster and D . simulans is caused by a lethal interaction of the proteins encoded by the Hmr and Lhr genes. In D . melanogaster the loss of HMR results in mitotic defects, an increase in transcription of transposable elements and a deregulation of heterochromatic genes. To better understand the molecular mechanisms that mediate HMR’s function, we measured genome-wide localization of HMR in D . melanogaster tissue culture cells by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Interestingly, we find HMR localizing to genomic insulator sites that can be classified into two groups. One group belongs to gypsy insulators and another one borders HP1a bound regions at active genes. The transcription of the latter group genes is strongly affected in larvae and ovaries of Hmr mutant flies. Our data suggest a novel link between HMR and insulator proteins, a finding that implicates a potential role for genome organization in the formation of species.