drosophila risc component vig and its homolog vig2 impact heterochromatin formation果蝇中收取risc组件及其同族体vig2影响异染色质的形成.pdfVIP

Drosophila RISC Component VIG and Its Homolog Vig2 Impact Heterochromatin Formation 1¤a 2¤b 1 Elena Gracheva , Monica Dus , Sarah C. R. Elgin * 1 Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States of America, 2 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America Abstract Heterochromatin formation plays an important role in gene regulation and the maintenance of genome integrity. Here we present results from a study of the D. melanogaster gene vig, encoding an RNAi complex component and its homolog vig2 (CG11844) that support their involvement in heterochromatin formation and/or maintenance. Protein null mutations vigEP812 and vig2PL470 act as modifiers of Position Effect Variegation (PEV). VIG and Vig2 are present in polytene chromosomes and partially overlap with HP1. Quantitative immunoblots show depletion of HP1 and HP2 (large isoform) in isolated nuclei from the vigEP812 mutant. The vig2PL470 mutant strain demonstrates a decreased level of H3K9me2. Pull-down experiments using antibodies specific to HP1 recovered both VIG and Vig2. The association between HP1 and both VIG and Vig2 proteins depends on an RNA component. The above data and the developmental profiles of the two genes suggest that Vig2 may be involved in heterochromatin targeting and establishment early in development, while VIG may have a role in stabilizing HP1/HP2 chromatin binding during later stages. Citation: Gracheva E, Dus M, Elgin SCR (2009) Drosophila RISC Component VIG and Its Homolog Vig2 Impact Heterochromatin Formation. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6182. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006182 Editor: Axel Imhof, University of Munich and Center of Integrated Protein Science, Germany Received February 10, 2009; Accepted May 29