This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Namciu, S. J. Articles by Fournier, R. E. K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Namciu, S. J. Articles by Fournier, R. E. K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2004, p. 10236-10245, Vol. 24, No. 23
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.23.10236-10245.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Human Matrix Attachment Regions Are Necessary for the Establishment but Not the Maintenance of Transgene Insulation in Drosophila melanogaster

Stephanie J. Namciu and R. E. K. Fournier^*

Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington

Received 6 May 2004/ Returned for modification 6 July 2004/ Accepted 1 September 2004

Human matrix attachment regions (MARs) can insulate transgene expression from chromosomal position effects in Drosophila melanogaster. To gain insight into the mechanism(s) by which chromosomal insulation occurs, we studied the expression phenotypes of Drosophila transformants expressing mini-white transgenes in which MAR sequences from the human apoB gene were arranged in a variety of ways. In agreement with previous reports, we found that a single copy of the insulating element was not sufficient for position-independent transgene expression; rather, two copies were required. However, the arrangement of the two elements within the transgene was unimportant, since chromosomal insulation was equally apparent when both copies of the insulator were upstream of the mini-white reporter as when the transcription unit was flanked by insulator elements. Moreover, experiments in which apoB 3' MAR sequences were removed from integrated transgenes in vivo by site-specific recombination demonstrated that MAR sequences were required for the establishment but not for the maintenance of chromosomal insulation. These observations are not compatible with the chromosomal loop model in its simplest form. Alternate mechanisms for MAR function in this system are proposed.

---

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109. Phone: (206) 667-5217. Fax: (206) 667-6522. E-mail: kfournie{at}fhcrc.org.

---

Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2004, p. 10236-10245, Vol. 24, No. 23
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.23.10236-10245.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Silicheva, M., Golovnin, A., Pomerantseva, E., Parshikov, A., Georgiev, P., Maksimenko, O. (2009). Drosophila mini-white model system: new insights into positive position effects and the role of transcriptional terminators and gypsy insulator in transgene shielding. Nucleic Acids Res 0: gkp877v1-gkp877 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Majumder, P., Roy, S., Belozerov, V. E., Bosu, D., Puppali, M., Cai, H. N. (2009). Diverse transcription influences can be insulated by the Drosophila SF1 chromatin boundary. Nucleic Acids Res 37: 4227-4233 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chetverina, D., Savitskaya, E., Maksimenko, O., Melnikova, L., Zaytseva, O., Parshikov, A., Galkin, A. V., Georgiev, P. (2008). Red flag on the white reporter: a versatile insulator abuts the white gene in Drosophila and is omnipresent in mini-white constructs. Nucleic Acids Res 36: 929-937 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Seo, J., Lozano, M. M., Dudley, J. P. (2005). Nuclear Matrix Binding Regulates SATB1-mediated Transcriptional Repression. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 24600-24609 [Abstract] [Full Text]