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PERSPECTIVE
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
Dosage compensation solves the chromosomal imbalance that is a result of sexual determination by sex chromosomes. It equalizes gene expression between the homogametic (XX) and heterogametic (XY) sexes and thus needs to selectively modify expression from the X chromosome in a sex-specific manner without affecting transcription on the autosomes. Various strategies have evolved in different organisms to achieve this balance, and their study has contributed significantly to our understanding of transcriptional gene regulation of whole chromosomes and established several paradigms of epigenetic control (Lucchesi 1998
; Stuckenholz et al. 1999
; Akhtar 2003
).
In mammals, dosage compensation is accomplished by inactivating one copy of the X chromosome in females via an epigenetic process of allele-specific modification of chromatin and DNA. In Drosophila, dosage compensation is achieved not by repression but by increasing the transcription specifically on the single male X chromosome (Hamada et al. 2005
; Straub et al. 2005
). Genetic screens for male-specific lethality (MSL) identified five protein-coding genes that are required for dosage compensation: Msl 1-3, male absent on the first (mof), and maleless (mle). Subsequent biochemical characterizations suggested that these proteins, together with two noncoding RNAs (roX1 and roX2), form what has been termed the dosage compensation complex (DCC) (for review, see Bashaw and Baker 1996
; Gilfillan et al. 2004
). Complex formation only occurs in males, as translation of the MSL-2 protein is inhibited in females.
A first evidence for chromatin as a target in dosage compensation came from the observation of higher levels of histone H4K16 acetylation on the hyperactivated X detected by immunostaining (Turner et al. 1992
). One of the msl genes, MOF, is a histone acetyl-transferase (HAT) that acetylates H4 at Lys 16 and is able to cause derepression of chromatinized templates in vitro and in vivo (Akhtar and Becker 2000
). Thus, it appears that the HAT activity of MOF plays an important part in the mechanisms that lead to hyperactivation of the male X (Smith et al. 2000
).
A large body of work in different systems established that histone hyperacetylation correlates with gene activation, making this a feasible model (Wade et al. 1997
). Yet how does the recruitment of a HAT activity that acetylates a single lysine on H4 result in a precise twofold up-regulation of mRNA? As histone acetylation is involved in promoter activation, it has been assumed that DCC is recruited to promoters of genes at the X chromosome, but is this really the site of action in vivo? Are individual genes targeted by DCC, or are large chromosomal regions covered? Equally as important, how does this process ensure regulation of X-linked genes that are dynamically expressed during development? Is compensation set up early in development for all genes independent of their subsequent activity, or is the DCC relocated dynamically to any activated gene? Many of these questions can be approached by defining sites and kinetics of DCC recruitment on the X chromosome in high spatial resolution at different developmental time points. No less than three reports in this issue of Genes & Development provide such chromosome-wide analysis of several MSL proteins. Together they provide important and unexpected insights into the process of dosage compensation, challenging and helping to redefine current models (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
; Gilfillan et al. 2006
; Legube et al. 2006
).
| Local recruitmentchromosome-wide up-regulation? |
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35) number of positions (Kelley et al. 1999
The above-described localizations were identified on polytene chromosomes with the limited resolution of light microscopy. The three reports from the groups of Akhtar (Legube et al. 2006
), Becker (Gilfillan et al. 2006
), and Kuroda (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
) now provide chromosome-wide localization information for different proteins of the DCC in an unprecedented resolution. Moreover, between these studies, binding of DCC members has been mapped in vivo at different developmental stages and in cell culture models, resulting in extensive data sets. All three studies use chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to enrich DCC protein-bound sequences with subsequent detection by DNA arrays (ChIPchip). The high genomic coverage and spatial resolution of the chosen microarrays allow quantitative analysis of chromosomal characteristics and sequence features of DCC-binding sites.
Alekseyenko et al. (2006)
use ectopic expression of epitope-tagged MSL-3 (MSL-3-TAP) and use the epitope to purify MSL-3 targets. MSL-3-TAP rescues msl3 mutant males and shows a similar polytene distribution, suggesting that tagging and ectopic expression do not interfere with DCC function and localization (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
). Subsequently, ChIPchip experiments are performed from stably transfected tissue culture cells or fly embryos hybridized to an oligo array. The chosen microarray covers the complete X chromosome and most of the left arm of chromosome 2 (2L), which serves as an autosomal region that should not be dosage-compensated. On the other hand, Gilfillan et al. (2006)
perform ChIP against endogenous MSL-1 in fly embryos and use either a comparable chromosomal tiling array or a microarray representing only genic regions as individual cDNA clones. In the third study, Legube et al. (2006)
performed ChIP against endogenous MSL-1 and MSL-3 using fly embryos or isolated salivary glands as starting material, and the detection is performed on a microarray consisting of cDNA clones. The use of cDNA arrays allows the screening of more individual genes but by definition gives no direct information on the distribution at intergenic regions and is unlikely to reveal preferential localization along a particular gene, as a single probe represents each gene.
Despite these differences in experimental tools and systems, all three studies show remarkable similarity in the general observation that all tested DCC members bind almost exclusively to a selected group of genes on the X chromosome. Altogether, 739 binding regions (defined as clusters of neighboring oligomers that show enrichment) are identified for MSL-3 (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
), and 773 for MSL-1 (Gilfillan et al. 2006
). We can assume that these two groups of target genes are largely overlapping, as the third study shows a high similarity between MSL-1- and MSL-3-bound genes on a cDNA array (Legube et al. 2006
). Thus a surprisingly large number of MSL-binding sites can be identified on the X chromosome in nonpolyploid cells, and they are likely to be bound by all tested proteins, suggesting that in each case the complete DCC complex is detected.
Binding is observed at discrete regions, and together <25% of the X chromosome appears to be bound by the DCC (Gilfillan et al. 2006
). This observed pattern indicates that DCC recruitment leads to local binding and does not coat chromosomal regions. Indeed, binding occurs with high preference at genes and not at intergenic sequences. This is apparent if selected chromosomal regions are inspected visually, and is further validated by statistical analysis showing that the vast majority (>90%) of enriched sequences for MSL-3-TAP (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
) and MSL-1 (Gilfillan et al. 2006
) are genic. A comparison of binding with expression state shows that mostly active genes and not inactive genes are DCC targets. This holds true in fly embryos, in an embryo-derived cell line (SL2), and in a cell line derived from larvae imaginal discs (Clone8). Importantly, while DCC presence indicates expression state, it does not appear to reflect the level of transcription, implying a certain threshold for DCC binding (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
; Gilfillan et al. 2006
; Legube et al. 2006
). Furthermore, not all active genes are targets, indicating that transcription alone is insufficient to recruit the complex (see below).
If identified DCC targets are indeed dosage-compensated, they should be identically expressed between males and females and loss of the complex should lead to their transcriptional down-regulation. This expected twofold change in expression is difficult to measure, but nevertheless knockdown of MSL-2 in SL2 cells reduces expression preferentially at DCC target genes (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
; Gilfillan et al. 2006
), suggesting that in this cell type, DCC binding is indicative of dosage compensation.
| Developmental dynamics of DCC binding |
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Strikingly, a comparison of MSL-1 binding between 4- to 6-h-staged embryos and larvae salivary gland cells reveals only very minor differences in DCC binding, while a large number of expression changes can be detected (Legube et al. 2006
), suggesting early establishment of DCC binding. This is supported by a previous comparison of polytene staining at different larval stages, which showed stable binding of DCC independent of transcriptional changes (Kotlikova et al. 2006
). Moreover, expression profiles of male and female salivary glands show only a modest correlation between dosage compensation, measured as equal expression in male and female, and DCC binding (Legube et al. 2006
). Of the cell types analyzed, only the salivary gland cells are terminally differentiated, while embryonic and imaginal disc cells are multipotent and mitotically dividing, opening the possibility that DCC binding is not dynamic past a certain developmental state. Such regulated plasticity could be linked to cellular potency and be more restricted in terminally differentiated cells. It will be important to investigate if this reflects changes in the ability to recruit DCC versus maintaining its presence on the chromosome.
| Up-regulation by binding downstream of the promoter |
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| Targeting of DCC |
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The limited ability to predict DCC binding from a single sequence motif is unlikely to reflect only the limits of current computational approaches, but rather indicates that binding occurs through integration of multiple weak interactions between DCC members and sequences proximal to compensated genes. Such weak interactions are probably infrequent and short-lived but could be sufficient to increase local concentrations of the DCC complex or individual members. In combination with a second recognized signal, this could lead to stable binding. As the DCC targets the 3' end of active genes, this second interaction partner could be a transcription-dependent protein component, such as an elongation factor or modified chromatin.
The genomic distributions of a large number of covalent histone modifications have been described recently (Schübeler et al. 2004
; Liu et al. 2005
; Pokholok et al. 2005
). Among these, only methylation of Lys 36 of histone H3 appears to be preferentially enriched downstream of the promoter as suggested by genome-wide analysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Pokholok et al. 2005
; Rao et al. 2005
) and single-gene analysis in chicken erythrocytes (Bannister et al. 2005
). In S. cerevisiae, K36 methylation recruits histone-deacetylase (HDAC) activity via the chromodomain protein eaf-3 (Carrozza et al. 2005
; Joshi and Struhl 2005
; Keogh et al. 2005
) and thus has been postulated to be involved in chromatin compaction following passage of the polymerase complex. Interestingly, MSL-3 represents one of the two Drosophila homologs of eaf-3, and thus it is tempting to speculate that it might interact via its chromo-domain with methylated Lys 36 of histone H3 (Alekseyenko et al. 2006
). The chromosomal distribution of K36 and the responsible histone methyltransferase(s) have so far not been described for Drosophila, leaving open the question of how much of this chromatin pathway is conserved in flies.
Importantly, H4K16 hyperacetylation has been detected at sites of DCC binding at promoter-distal regions (Smith et al. 2001
; Gilfillan et al. 2006
). Thus, it is conceivable that DCC recruitment could antagonize K36-mediated deacetylation of reading frames by mediating acetylation of H4K16. While this potential cross-talk between K36 methylation and DCC remains to be shown, it could represent an unexpected additional role for chromatin in the process of dosage compensation. Not only would a histone residue be modified by DCC, but a different modified residue could be involved in complex targeting in conjunction with X-chromosome-specific sequences.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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E-MAIL dirk{at}fmi.ch; FAX 41-61-6973976. ![]()
Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.1423006
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