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Transcription of Satellite DNAs in Insects

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First Online:
Part of the Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology book series (PMSB, volume 51)

Abstract

The very complex life cycle and extreme diversity of insect life forms require a carefully regulated network of biological processes to switch on and off the right genes at the right time. Chromatin condensation is an important regulatory mechanism of gene silencing as well as gene activation for the hundreds of functional protein genes harbored in heterochromatic regions of different insect species. Being the major heterochromatin constituents, satellite DNAs (satDNAs) serve important roles in heterochromatin regulation in insects in general. Their expression occurs in all developmental stages, being the highest during embryogenesis. satDNA transcripts range from small RNAs, corresponding in size to siRNAs, and piwiRNAs, to large, a few kb long RNAs. The long transcripts are preferentially nonpolyadenylated and remain in the nucleus. The actively regulated expression of satDNAs by cis or trans elements as well as by environmental stress, rather than constitutive transcription, speaks in favor of their involvement in differentiation, development, and environmental response.

Keywords

Satellite DNAs Satellite Repeat Heterochromatin Formation Satellite Sequence Hammerhead Ribozyme 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by EU FP6 Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge Grant MTKD-CT-2006-042248 and grant 00982604 from the Croatian Ministry of Science. Isidoro Feliciello is Marie Curie Fellow at Ruder Boskovic Institute.

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© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Ruđer Bošković InstituteZagrebCroatia
  2. 2.Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e SperimentaleUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico IINapoliItaly

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