Questions, Feedback & Help
Send us an email and we'll get back to you ASAP. Or you can read our Frequently Asked Questions.
  • page settings
  • hide sidebar
  • show empty fields
  • layout
  • (too narrow)
  • open all
  • close all
Resources » Paper

Gaydos, Laura et al. (2013) International Worm Meeting "Epigenetic regulation of fertility in C. elegans males depends on the gamete source and chromatin history of the X chromosome."

  • History

  • Referenced

  • Tree Display

  • My Favorites

  • My Library

  • Comments on Gaydos, Laura et al. (2013) International Worm Meeting "Epigenetic regulation of fertility in C. elegans males depends on the gamete source and chromatin history of the X chromosome." (0)

  • Overview

    Status:
    Publication type:
    Meeting_abstract
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00042674

    Gaydos, Laura, Rechtsteiner, Andreas, Wang, Wenchao, & Strome, Susan (2013). Epigenetic regulation of fertility in C. elegans males depends on the gamete source and chromatin history of the X chromosome presented in International Worm Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.

    Organisms with different numbers of X chromosomes in the two sexes have evolved diverse strategies to regulate X-linked gene expression. Somatic cells compensate for the difference in X dosage by inactivating one X in XX mammals, down-regulating both Xs in XX C. elegans, or up-regulating the single X in XY Drosophila. Germ cells in C. elegans display a more extreme type of regulation, near silencing of both Xs in XX hermaphrodites and the single X in XO males. X repression in the germline is achieved at least in part by the MES proteins, epigenetic regulators that must be maternally provided to progeny to ensure survival of the primordial germ cells. In the adult germline, the MES-2/3/6 complex, which is the worm version of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, concentrates a repressive histone modification (H3K27me) on the Xs. MES-4 participates in X repression in an indirect manner. MES-4 catalyzes a mark of active chromatin (H3K36me) on germline-expressed genes on autosomes; this repels H3K27me from autosomal regions and helps concentrate H3K27me on the Xs. Recent investigation of whether the MES proteins participate in repression of the single X in XO males has revealed that the answer depends on the gamete source of the X. Maternal MES function is required when the X in males is inherited from the oocyte but not when the X is inherited from the sperm. In the latter case, X repression appears to be mediated by enzymes that generate the repressive histone modification H3K9me. Our studies have shown that the opposing activities of MES-2/3/6 and MES-4 repress transcription from the two Xs in XX germ cells, and that in XO germ cells H3K9me can serve as another mode of repression.

    Affiliations:
    - Dept of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
    - Dept of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA


    Tip: Seeing your name marked red? Please help us identify you.