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An antagonism between the telomeric and polycomb-dependent chromatin at the end of terminally deleted Drosophila melanogaster chromosomes

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Abstract

The results obtained at our laboratory during several last years suggest that a specific telomeric chromatin is formed at the terminal regions of Drosophila melanogaster DNA of 4–5 kb in length. In this work, we have studied how the telomeric chromatin influences the Polycomb-dependent repression. Many Polycomb proteins are involved in the formation of subtelomeric chromatin and inhibit the expression of a transgene inserted into it. However, the question on a positive or negative effect of telomeric chromatin on the assembly of subtelomeric protein complexes is yet open. Using a model system, in which a P element inserted upstream of the yellow gene promoter and located at the end of a terminally deleted chromosome can serve as a binding site for Pc-G proteins in the presence of ph p1 mutant allele, we have shown that a specific structure of the telomeric chromatin negatively influences the formation of Polycomb-dependent repression complex. These results suggest an antagonism between the telomeric and subtelomeric (Pc-G-dependent) chromatins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334, Russia

    K. A. Proskuryakov & L. S. Melnikova

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  1. K. A. Proskuryakov
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  2. L. S. Melnikova
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Correspondence to L. S. Melnikova.

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Original Russian Text © K.A. Proskuryakov, L.S. Melnikova, 2008, published in Genetika, 2008, Vol. 44, No. 11, pp. 1561–1565.

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Proskuryakov, K.A., Melnikova, L.S. An antagonism between the telomeric and polycomb-dependent chromatin at the end of terminally deleted Drosophila melanogaster chromosomes. Russ J Genet 44, 1358–1361 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1022795408110173

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1022795408110173

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