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Chromatin structure of ribosomal genes in Chironomus thummi (Diptera: Chironomidae): tissue specificity and behaviour under drug treatment

Chromosome Research volume 15, Article number: 429 (2007) Cite this article

Abstract

In eukaryotes the ribosomal gene population shows two different states in terms of chromatin structure. One subset is organized as nucleosomes (silent copies) while the other has a non-nucleosomal configuration (active copies). Insect cells are not the exception and this bimodal distribution of ribosomal chromatin also occurs in salivary gland cells, and cells of other larval tissues, of the midge Chironomus thummi. In run-on experiments on salivary glands cells we confirmed that transcribed rRNA genes show a non-nucleosomal configuration. The proportion of rRNA genes adopting an open, non-nucleosomal configuration was found to be tissue-dependent, suggesting that the population of unfolded ribosomal chromatin in C. thummi was established during cell differentiation. We propose that cell differentiation determines the fraction of non-nucleosomal rRNA gene copies and thus defines the range of possible rRNA synthesis rates in a particular cell type. In the salivary gland the fraction of unfolded chromatin was not significantly affected when transcription was repressed. However, transcription activation by pilocarpine led to a moderate increase in this fraction. These findings indicate that, in addition to a possible increase in the number of RNA-polymerases per transcribing rDNA unit, the proportion of transcribed ribosomal genes in differentiated cells can be modulated in response to an exceptional rRNA synthesis requirement.

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Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Celular y del Desarrollo, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CSIC, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Cristina Sanz, Maria Fernanda Ruiz & José Luís Díez

  2. Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 277, Cidade Universitária, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Eduardo Gorab

  3. Institute for Cell Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-80. 93, Zurich, Switzerland

    José Manuel Sogo

Authors
  1. Cristina Sanz
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  2. Eduardo Gorab
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  3. Maria Fernanda Ruiz
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  4. José Manuel Sogo
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  5. José Luís Díez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to José Luís Díez.

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Cristina Sanz and Eduardo Gorab contributed equally to the work.

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Sanz, C., Gorab, E., Ruiz, M.F. et al. Chromatin structure of ribosomal genes in Chironomus thummi (Diptera: Chironomidae): tissue specificity and behaviour under drug treatment. Chromosome Res 15, 429 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-007-1134-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-007-1134-1

Key words

  • Chironomus
  • chromatin
  • nucleosomes
  • ribosomal DNA
  • transcription