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Molecular and Cellular Biology, August 2007, p. 5486-5498, Vol. 27, No. 15
0270-7306/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.00692-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Double-Bromodomain Protein, FSH-S, Activates the Homeotic Gene Ultrabithorax through a Critical Promoter-Proximal Region

Yuh-Long Chang,¹ Balas King,¹ Shu-Chun Lin,^1, James A. Kennison,² and Der-Hwa Huang^1*

Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China,¹ Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland²

Received 20 April 2007/ Returned for modification 12 May 2007/ Accepted 17 May 2007

More than a dozen trithorax group (trxG) proteins are involved in activation of Drosophila HOX genes. How they act coordinately to integrate signals from distantly located enhancers is not fully understood. The female sterile (1) homeotic (fs(1)h) gene is one of the trxG genes that is most critical for Ultrabithorax (Ubx) activation. We show that one of the two double-bromodomain proteins encoded by fs(1)h acts as an essential factor in the Ubx proximal promoter. First, overexpression of the small isoform FSH-S, but not the larger one, can induce ectopic expression of HOX genes and cause body malformation. Second, FSH-S can stimulate Ubx promoter in cultured cells through a critical proximal region in a bromodomain-dependent manner. Third, purified FSH-S can bind specifically to a motif within this region that was previously known as the ZESTE site. The physiological relevance of FSH-S is ascertained using transgenic embryos containing a modified Ubx proximal promoter and chromatin immunoprecipitation. In addition, we show that FSH-S is involved in phosphorylation of itself and other regulatory factors. We suggest that FSH-S acts as a critical component of a regulatory circuitry mediating long-range effects of distant enhancers.

Published ahead of print on 25 May 2007.

Present address: Faculty of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.