abd-A Regulation by the iab-8 Noncoding RNA

Authors

Maheshwar Gummalla, University of Geneva
Robert K. Maeda, University of Geneva
Javier J. Castro Alvarez, University of Geneva
Henrik Gyurkovics, Biological Research Center, Hungary
Kevin A. Edwards, Illinois State University
Swetha Singari, Illinois State University
Welcome Bender, Harvard University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2012

Keywords

homeotic genes, genes, Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

The homeotic genes in Drosophila melanogaster are aligned on the chromosome in the order of the body segments that they affect. The genes affecting the more posterior segments repress the more anterior genes. This posterior dominance rule must be qualified in the case of abdominal-A (abd-A) repression by Abdominal-B (Abd-B). Animals lacking Abd-B show ectopic expression of abd-A in the epidermis of the eighth abdominal segment, but not in the central nervous system. Repression in these neuronal cells is accomplished by a 92 kb noncoding RNA. This "iab-8 RNA" produces a micro RNA to repress abd-A, but also has a second, redundant repression mechanism that acts only "in cis." Transcriptional interference with the abd-A promoter is the most likely mechanism.

Comments

Originally published in PloS Genetics journal by the Public Library of Science.

Recommended Citation

Gummalla, Maheshwar; Maeda, Robert K.; Alvarez, Javier J. Castro; Gyurkovics, Henrik; Edwards, Kevin A.; Singari, Swetha; and Bender, Welcome, "abd-A Regulation by the iab-8 Noncoding RNA" (2012). Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences. 1.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/fpbiosci/1