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Mol Cell Biol. 1993 February; 13(2): 993-1001

Combinatorial regulation by promoter and intron 1 regions of the metallothionein SpMTA gene in the sea urchin embryo.

Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111.

ABSTRACT

The SpMTA metallothionein gene of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is regulated developmentally, histospecifically, and by heavy-metal induction. The sequenced 5' flank of the gene can be divided into proximal, middle, and distal regions, each containing a pair of metal response elements (MREs). Canonical 7-bp core sequences are present in all except the middle-region MREs c and d, which contain 1-bp mismatches. Metal-induced expression in transgenic blastulae was increased with each consecutive addition of the middle and distal regions to a chimeric reporter gene construct containing the proximal SpMTA promoter region. Reduced metal induction through point mutation of the distal MREs e and f indicated that the MREs themselves were largely responsible for the transcriptional increase. These activities were further enhanced by SpMTA intron 1, but not when a specific interior region of the intron had been deleted. The atypical MREs c and d did not support induction by themselves, i.e., when present alone with mutated proximal MREs a and b. However, in the presence of intron 1, they were able to substitute for the nullified MREs a and b in the promotion of metal-induced expression. This capability suggests, furthermore, that these atypical MREs, in addition to responding to an intron 1 region, participate cooperatively with the canonical proximal MREs.

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