Abstract

The regulation of transcription in C. elegans shares many similarities to transcription in other organisms. The details of how specific transcription factors bind to target promoters and act as either activators or repressors are still being examined in many cases, but an increasing number of factors and their binding sites are being characterized. This chapter reviews the general concepts that have emerged with regards to promoter function in C. elegans. Included are the methods that have been successfully employed as well as limitations encountered to date. Specific cis-acting promoter elements from myo-2, hlh-1 and lin-26 are discussed as examples of complex promoters regulated by multiple sequence elements. In addition, examples of organ-, tissue-, and cell type-specific mechanisms for generating spatial specificity in gene expression are discussed.

Highlights

  • Regulation of Polymerase II (Pol II) transcription in C. elegans can be described as typical for eukaryotes

  • Pol II appears to act in concert with TATA Binding Protein (TBP) and TBP-Associated Factors (TAFs) at the promoter of protein coding genes (Dantonel et al, 2000; Kaltenbach et al, 2000; Lichtsteiner and Tjian, 1993; Walker et al, 2004)

  • Active Pol II is phosphorylated on the C-terminal domain (CTD) at serine 2 and 5 like other eukaryotes (Seydoux and Dunn, 1997; Wallenfang and Seydoux, 2002; Zhang et al, 2003)

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Summary

Introduction

Regulation of Polymerase II (Pol II) transcription in C. elegans can be described as typical for eukaryotes. Active Pol II is phosphorylated on the C-terminal domain (CTD) at serine 2 and 5 like other eukaryotes (Seydoux and Dunn, 1997; Wallenfang and Seydoux, 2002; Zhang et al, 2003) The functions of these proteins at the core of transcription are beginning to be defined and are reviewed in Transcription mechanisms. We have not fully explored the role of histone modifications and chromatin organization in somatic cell transcription Progress on these fronts has primarily been made in the areas of dosage compensation (see X-chromosome dosage compensation) and germline chromatin organization (see Germline chromatin). For these cases, the evolutionary conservation suggests that somatic cell transcription will be influenced by typical eucaryotic mechanisms of chromatin organization. The hope is that this information will serve as both a useful review and an entry point into literature appropriate for specific applications

Tools to study transcriptional regulation
Locating cis-acting regulatory elements
Simple promoters
Complex promoters
Trans-acting factors
Future
10. References
27. Abstract
Findings
11. Abstract
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