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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2003, p. 1181-1195, Vol. 23, No. 4
0270-7306/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.23.4.1181-1195.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

batman Interacts with Polycomb and trithorax Group Genes and Encodes a BTB/POZ Protein That Is Included in a Complex Containing GAGA Factor

M. Faucheux,¹ J.-Y. Roignant,² S. Netter,^1, J. Charollais,¹ C. Antoniewski,² and L. Théodore^1*

Laboratoire d'Embryologie Moléculaire et Expérimentale, Chromatine et Développement, CNRS ESA 8080, Université Paris Sud, Orsay,¹ Institut Jacques Monod, UMR 7592, CNRS, Université Paris 6 and Université Paris 7, Paris, France²

Received 5 February 2002/ Returned for modification 1 April 2002/ Accepted 13 November 2002

Polycomb and trithorax group genes maintain the appropriate repressed or activated state of homeotic gene expression throughout Drosophila melanogaster development. We have previously identified the batman gene as a Polycomb group candidate since its function is necessary for the repression of Sex combs reduced. However, our present genetic analysis indicates functions of batman in both activation and repression of homeotic genes. The 127-amino-acid Batman protein is almost reduced to a BTB/POZ domain, an evolutionary conserved protein-protein interaction domain found in a large protein family. We show that this domain is involved in the interaction between Batman and the DNA binding GAGA factor encoded by the Trithorax-like gene. The GAGA factor and Batman codistribute on polytene chromosomes, coimmunoprecipitate from nuclear embryonic and larval extracts, and interact in the yeast two-hybrid assay. Batman, together with the GAGA factor, binds to MHS-70, a 70-bp fragment of the bithoraxoid Polycomb response element. This binding, like that of the GAGA factor, requires the presence of d(GA)n sequences. Together, our results suggest that batman belongs to a subset of the Polycomb/trithorax group of genes that includes Trithorax-like, whose products are involved in both activation and repression of homeotic genes.

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* Corresponding author. Present address: Mémoire Cellulaire, LGBC, CNRS UPRES-A 8087, BÂt. Buffon, Université de Versailles/Saint-Quentin, 45, Ave. des Etats Unis, 78035 Versailles, France. Phone: 33 1 39 25 36 50. Fax: 33 1 39 25 36 55. E-mail: laurent.theodore{at}emex.u-psud.fr.

Present address: CNRS UPRES-A 8087, Université de Versailles/s 78035 Versailles, France.

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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2003, p. 1181-1195, Vol. 23, No. 4
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.23.4.1181-1195.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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