Examining the function and mechanism of histone variant H2A.z (HTZ-1) in transcriptional repression.
Loading...
Date
2020-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Proper gene regulation is vital for development and cell differentiation and one method in which
cells regulate genes is via chromatin structure. Histones play an important role
in determining chromatin structure and that chromatin structure can influence if a gene is active
or inactive. In C. elegans, Myb-MuvB/DREAM complex proteins manage inappropriate transcript
accumulation by transcriptionally repressing target genes through depositing the histone variant
H2A.z/HTZ-1 along the gene body. Here, we studied the in vivo characteristics of H2A.z/HTZ-1
mutants and compared them to the known characteristics of Myb-MuvB/DREAM complex
mutants. Similar phenotypes suggested that H2A.z/HTZ-1 behaves similarly to and can be
classified as a Myb-MuvB/DREAM complex protein. Additionally, we proposed that H2A./HTZ-1
functions in this gene repression pathway to directly condense and close the chromatin state. We
also showed that H2A.z/HTZ-1 gene repression function is conserved between organisms by
studying characteristics in a different nematode, C. briggsae. Studying H2A.z/HTZ-1 associated
gene repression is important because H2A.z/HTZ-1 has also been tied to gene activation. A better
understanding of exactly how H2A.z/HTZ-1 functions can provide valuable insight into gene
regulation.
Description
Denman Undergraduate Research Forum Finalist in Genetics and Cancer (2020)
Keywords
genetics, DNA, histones, cancer, gene regulation, C. elegans