The PHD finger: Implications for chromatin-mediated transcriptional regulation

During Drosophila development, the Polycomb and trithorax group genes (Pc-G and trx-G) are required to maintain stable expression patterns for the clustered homeotic genes (HOM-C). Several lines of evidence suggest that Pc-G and trx-G exert their effects through interaction with, or modification of,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in biochemical sciences (Amsterdam. Regular ed.) 1995-02, Vol.20 (2), p.56-59
Main Authors: Aasland, Rein, Gibson, Toby J., Stewart, A.Francis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Chromatin - physiology
Drosophila melanogaster
Molecular Sequence Data
Plant Proteins - genetics
Transcription, Genetic
Zinc Fingers - genetics
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Summary:During Drosophila development, the Polycomb and trithorax group genes (Pc-G and trx-G) are required to maintain stable expression patterns for the clustered homeotic genes (HOM-C). Several lines of evidence suggest that Pc-G and trx-G exert their effects through interaction with, or modification of, chromatin. Using the recently published sequence of the Pc-G protein Polycomblike (Pcl) as a probe in sequence similarity searches, we found that a zinc-finger-like motif occurs twice in Pcl and three times in trx and HRX. This motif has a unique Cys sub(4)-His-Cys sub(3) pattern, spanning approximately 50-80 residues. The pattern of conservation, which includes additional conserved positions, is clearly distinct from two similarly sized motifs that also occur in nuclear regulatory proteins; the Cys sub(3)-His-Cys sub(4) RING finger and the Cys sub(2)-His-Cys sub(5) LIM domain. Schindler et al. noted this Cys-rich motif in two closely related plant homeodomain proteins, HAT3.1 and HOX1A, and called it the PHD finger.
ISSN:0968-0004
1362-4326
DOI:10.1016/S0968-0004(00)88957-4