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The dosage compensation complex shapes the conformation of the X chromosome in Drosophila
26.08.2009
The dosage compensation complex (DCC) in Drosophila
globally increases transcription from the X chromosome
in males to compensate for its monosomy.We discovered
a male-specific conformation of the X chromosome that
depends on the associations of high-affinity binding sites
(HAS) of the DCC. The core DCC subunits MSL1–MSL2
are responsible for this male-specific organization. Contrary
to emerging concepts, we found that neither DCC assembly nor the conformation of the male X chromosome are influenced by nuclear pore components. We propose that nuclear organization of HAS is central to the faithful distribution of the DCC along the X chromosome.
