First published online January 26, 2007
Development 134, 404e (2007)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Silence please for MRG-1
Germ cells are unique in their ability to give rise to the next generation,
and thus must remain undifferentiated to maintain totipotency. Mammalian
mortality-factor-related MRG15 is a chromodomain protein that regulates
transcription. The C. elegans orthologue of MRG15 is MRG-1, and now
Hiroshi Sakamoto's and Susan Strome's labs (see
p. 757) report that
MRG-1 is required for germline development and for X chromosome silencing in
C. elegans. Surprisingly, however, MRG-1 localizes only to autosomes
and is undetectable on X chromosomes. MRG-1 shares with the maternal-effect
sterile protein, MES-4, an autosomal localisation and the ability to repress
genes in the germ line. However, MRG-1's autosomal localisation does not
depend on MES-4 activity, and vice versa. MRG-1 might, the authors propose,
act in a complex to modify chromatin organisation and gene expression through
the regulation of histone acetylation. They further suggest that MRG-1 might
de-repress autosomal genes that can silence genes on the X chromosome; these
autosomal genes, however, have yet to be identified.
Related articles in Development:
- MRG-1, an autosome-associated protein, silences X-linked genes and protects germline immortality in Caenorhabditis elegans
- Teruaki Takasaki, Zheng Liu, Yasuaki Habara, Kiyoji Nishiwaki, Jun-ichi Nakayama, Kunio Inoue, Hiroshi Sakamoto, and Susan Strome
Development 2007 134: 757-767.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
