The Promoter of the Heterochromatic Drosophila Telomeric Retrotransposon, HeT-A, Is Active When Moved Into Euchromatic Locations

Corresponding author: Mary-Lou Pardue, 68-670, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139., mlpardue{at}mit.edu (E-mail)

Communicating editor: J. A. BIRCHLER

The Drosophila telomeric retrotransposon, HeT-A, is found only in heterochromatin; therefore, its promoter must function in this chromatin environment. Studies of position effect variegation suggest that promoters of heterochromatic genes are very different from euchromatic promoters, but this idea has not been tested with isolated promoter sequences. The HeT-A promoter is the first heterochromatin promoter to be isolated and it is of interest to investigate its activity when removed from telomeric heterochromatin. This promoter was initially characterized by testing reporter constructs in transient transfection of cultured cells, an environment that may approximate its endogenous heterochromatin. We now report P-element-mediated transpositions of these constructs, testing the function of different parts of the putative promoter in euchromatin. Expression of endogenous HeT-A RNA shows marked developmental regulation and accumulates preferentially in replicating diploid tissues. HeT-A promoter constructs are active in all euchromatic locations tested and some display aspects of endogenous HeT-A stage- and cell-type expression programs. The activity of each promoter construct in euchromatic locations is also generally consistent with its activity in the transient transfection tests; a possibly significant exception is one sequence segment that appreciably enhanced activity in transient transfection but repressed promoter activity in euchromatin.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Shpiz, D. Kwon, A. Uneva, M. Kim, M. Klenov, Y. Rozovsky, P. Georgiev, M. Savitsky, and A. Kalmykova Characterization of Drosophila Telomeric Retroelement TAHRE: Transcription, Transpositions, and RNAi-based Regulation of Expression Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2007; 24(11): 2535 - 2545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. C. Frydrychova, H. Biessmann, A. Y. Konev, M. D. Golubovsky, J. Johnson, T. K. Archer, and J. M. Mason Transcriptional Activity of the Telomeric Retrotransposon HeT-A in Drosophila melanogaster Is Stimulated as a Consequence of Subterminal Deficiencies at Homologous and Nonhomologous Telomeres Mol. Cell. Biol., July 1, 2007; 27(13): 4991 - 5001. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. George, P. G. DeBaryshe, K. L. Traverse, S. E. Celniker, and M.-L. Pardue Genomic organization of the Drosophila telomere retrotransposable elements Genome Res., October 1, 2006; 16(10): 1231 - 1240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Savitsky, D. Kwon, P. Georgiev, A. Kalmykova, and V. Gvozdev Telomere elongation is under the control of the RNAi-based mechanism in the Drosophila germline Genes & Dev., February 1, 2006; 20(3): 345 - 354. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. N. Andreyeva, E. S. Belyaeva, V. F. Semeshin, G. V. Pokholkova, and I. F. Zhimulev Three distinct chromatin domains in telomere ends of polytene chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster Tel mutants J. Cell Sci., December 1, 2005; 118(23): 5465 - 5477. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Biessmann, S. Prasad, V. F. Semeshin, E. N. Andreyeva, Q. Nguyen, M. F. Walter, and J. M. Mason Two Distinct Domains in Drosophila melanogaster Telomeres Genetics, December 1, 2005; 171(4): 1767 - 1777. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Melnikova, H. Biessmann, and P. Georgiev The Ku Protein Complex Is Involved in Length Regulation of Drosophila Telomeres Genetics, May 1, 2005; 170(1): 221 - 235. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]