Abstract
BackgroundTelomere maintenance in Drosophila relies on the targeted transposition of three very special non-LTR retrotransposons, HeT-A, TART, and TAHRE (HTT). The sequences of the retrotransposon array build up the telomere chromatin in this organism. We have recently reported the role of the chromosomal protein Putzig/Z4 in maintaining a proper chromatin structure at the telomere domain of Drosophila. Because the Putzig protein has been found in different cellular complexes related with cell proliferation, development, and immunity, we decided to investigate whether the previously described Putzig partners, DREF/TRF2 and KEN, could also be involved in the telomere function in this organism.ResultsWe have found that mutant alleles for Dref/Trf2 and Ken show alterations in HeT-A and TART expression, suggesting a possible role of these protein complexes in the regulation of the telomere retrotransposons. In agreement, both HeT-A and TART contain the specific DNA binding sequences for the DREF and the KEN protein proteins.ConclusionsWe have identified three new negative regulators involved in the control of the expression of the telomeric retrotransposons, Dref, Trf2, and Ken. Our results offer some clues on which other chromatin-related proteins might be involved in telomere regulation and retrotransposon control.
Highlights
Telomere maintenance in Drosophila relies on the targeted transposition of three very special nonLTR retrotransposons, HeT-A, TART, and TAHRE (HTT)
We found that the lack of Pzg disturbs the structure of the telomeric chromatin affecting the stability of the telomeres and causing telomere fusions (TFs) [6]
Mutations in Dref, Trf2, and Ken affect the telomeric retrotransposons HeT-A and TART We investigated whether mutations in Dref, Trf2, and Ken affected the expression of the telomeric retrotransposons HeT-A and TART
Summary
Telomere maintenance in Drosophila relies on the targeted transposition of three very special nonLTR retrotransposons, HeT-A, TART, and TAHRE (HTT). A study using a Drosophila mutant line, tel characterized by the presence of telomeres ten times longer than the average wild-type Drosophila telomeres [8], identified Pzg as a component of the telomere domain [4]. These findings led us to investigate the role of Pzg at Drosophila telomeres. The telomere function of Pzg is coordinated with other proteins present at the HTT array, such as JIL-1 or HP1a [6] The equilibrium between these proteins is one of the keys to obtaining a precise level of expression of the telomere retrotransposons, HeT-A and TART. A recent study has confirmed the presence of Pzg at the telomeres when screening for proteins that interact with another component of the HTT array, the Prod protein [9,10]
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