Skip to main content
PMC home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1994 Feb;136(2):573–583. doi: 10.1093/genetics/136.2.573

Mosaic Suppressor, a Gene in Drosophila That Modifies Retrotransposon Expression and Interacts with Zeste

A K Csink 1, R Linsk 1, J A Birchler 1
PMCID: PMC1205809  PMID: 8150284

Abstract

A newly identified locus in Drosophila melanogaster, Mosaic suppressor (Msu), is described. This gene modifies the expression of white-apricot (w(a)), which is a copia retrotransposon-induced allele of the white gene. In addition to suppressing w(a) in a mosaic fashion, this mutation suppresses or enhances the expression of several other retrotransposon induced white alleles. Mutations in Msu alter copia transcript abundance and may regulate the expression of several other retrotransposons. While each of the two Msu isolates is homozygous lethal, heteroallelic escapers occur at a low frequency. These escapers act not only as strong suppressors of w(a), but also as a recessive enhancer of synaptic-dependent gene expression at white. The mutation described here suggests a connection between the regulation of specific transcriptional units such as retrotransposons and more global synapsis dependent regulatory effects.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (7.0 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bialojan S., Falkenburg D., Renkawitz-Pohl R. Characterization and developmental expression of beta tubulin genes in Drosophila melanogaster. EMBO J. 1984 Nov;3(11):2543–2548. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02170.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Biggin M. D., Bickel S., Benson M., Pirrotta V., Tjian R. Zeste encodes a sequence-specific transcription factor that activates the Ultrabithorax promoter in vitro. Cell. 1988 Jun 3;53(5):713–722. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90089-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bingham P. M., Chapman C. H. Evidence that white-blood is a novel type of temperature-sensitive mutation resulting from temperature-dependent effects of a transposon insertion on formation of white transcripts. EMBO J. 1986 Dec 1;5(12):3343–3351. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04649.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bingham P. M., Judd B. H. A copy of the copia transposable element is very tightly linked to the Wa allele at the white locus of D. melanogaster. Cell. 1981 Sep;25(3):705–711. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90177-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Collins M., Rubin G. M. Structure of the Drosophila mutable allele, white-crimson, and its white-ivory and wild-type derivatives. Cell. 1982 Aug;30(1):71–79. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90013-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Davis P. S., Shen M. W., Judd B. H. Asymmetrical pairings of transposons in and proximal to the white locus of Drosophila account for four classes of regularly occurring exchange products. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Jan;84(1):174–178. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.1.174. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Davison D., Chapman C. H., Wedeen C., Bingham P. M. Genetic and physical studies of a portion of the white locus participating in transcriptional regulation and in synapsis-dependent interactions in Drosophila adult tissues. Genetics. 1985 Jul;110(3):479–494. doi: 10.1093/genetics/110.3.479. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gelbart W. M. Synapsis-dependent allelic complementation at the decapentaplegic gene complex in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Apr;79(8):2636–2640. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.8.2636. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Goldberg M. L., Colvin R. A., Mellin A. F. The Drosophila zeste locus is nonessential. Genetics. 1989 Sep;123(1):145–155. doi: 10.1093/genetics/123.1.145. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Goldberg M. L., Paro R., Gehring W. J. Molecular cloning of the white locus region of Drosophila melanogaster using a large transposable element. EMBO J. 1982;1(1):93–98. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1982.tb01130.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hiebert J. C., Birchler J. A. Dosage compensation of the copia retrotransposon in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1992 Mar;130(3):539–545. doi: 10.1093/genetics/130.3.539. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Jack J. W., Judd B. H. Allelic pairing and gene regulation: A model for the zeste-white interaction in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Mar;76(3):1368–1372. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.3.1368. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jones R. S., Gelbart W. M. Genetic analysis of the enhancer of zeste locus and its role in gene regulation in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1990 Sep;126(1):185–199. doi: 10.1093/genetics/126.1.185. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kalisch W. E., Rasmuson B. Changes of zeste phenotype induced by autosomal mutations in Drosophila melanogaster. Hereditas. 1974;78(1):97–104. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-5223.1974.tb01432.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Karess R. E., Rubin G. M. A small tandem duplication is responsible for the unstable white-ivory mutation in Drosophila. Cell. 1982 Aug;30(1):63–69. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90012-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kaufman T. C., Tasaka S. E., Suzuki D. T. The interaction of two complex loci, zeste and bithorax in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1973 Oct;75(2):299–321. doi: 10.1093/genetics/75.2.299. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Levis R., Bingham P. M., Rubin G. M. Physical map of the white locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Jan;79(2):564–568. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.2.564. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Mansukhani A., Gunaratne P. H., Sherwood P. W., Sneath B. J., Goldberg M. L. Nucleotide sequence and structural analysis of the zeste locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Gen Genet. 1988 Jan;211(1):121–128. doi: 10.1007/BF00338402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Mount S. M., Green M. M., Rubin G. M. Partial revertants of the transposable element-associated suppressible allele white-apricot in Drosophila melanogaster: structures and responsiveness to genetic modifiers. Genetics. 1988 Feb;118(2):221–234. doi: 10.1093/genetics/118.2.221. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. O'Hare K., Alley M. R., Cullingford T. E., Driver A., Sanderson M. J. DNA sequence of the Doc retroposon in the white-one mutant of Drosophila melanogaster and of secondary insertions in the phenotypically altered derivatives white-honey and white-eosin. Mol Gen Genet. 1991 Jan;225(1):17–24. doi: 10.1007/BF00282637. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. O'Hare K., Murphy C., Levis R., Rubin G. M. DNA sequence of the white locus of Drosophila melanogaster. J Mol Biol. 1984 Dec 15;180(3):437–455. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(84)90021-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. O'hare K., Levis R., Rubin G. M. Transcription of the white locus in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Nov;80(22):6917–6921. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.22.6917. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wu C. T., Jones R. S., Lasko P. F., Gelbart W. M. Homeosis and the interaction of zeste and white in Drosophila. Mol Gen Genet. 1989 Sep;218(3):559–564. doi: 10.1007/BF00332424. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Zachar Z., Bingham P. M. Regulation of white locus expression: the structure of mutant alleles at the white locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Cell. 1982 Sep;30(2):529–541. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90250-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Zachar Z., Davison D., Garza D., Bingham P. M. A detailed developmental and structural study of the transcriptional effects of insertion of the Copia transposon into the white locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1985 Nov;111(3):495–515. doi: 10.1093/genetics/111.3.495. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES