Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-4-2
pubmed:abstractText
Although most animals occur in two sexes, the molecular pathways they employ to control sexual development vary considerably. The only known molecular similarity between phyla in sex determination is between two genes, mab-3 from C. elegans, and doublesex (dsx) from Drosophila. Both genes contain a DNA binding motif called a DM domain and they regulate similar aspects of sexual development, including yolk protein synthesis and peripheral nervous system differentiation. Here we show that MAB-3, like the DSX proteins, is a direct regulator of yolk protein gene transcription. We show that despite containing different numbers of DM domains MAB-3 and DSX bind to similar DNA sequences. mab-3 mutations deregulate vitellogenin synthesis at the level of transcription, resulting in expression in both sexes, and the vitellogenin genes have potential MAB-3 binding sites upstream of their transcriptional start sites. MAB-3 binds to a site in the vit-2 promoter in vitro, and this site is required in vivo to prevent transcription of a vit-2 reporter construct in males, suggesting that MAB-3 is a direct repressor of vitellogenin transcription. This is the first direct link between the sex determination regulatory pathway and sex-specific structural genes in C. elegans, and it suggests that nematodes and insects use at least some of the same mechanisms to control sexual development.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0950-1991
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
126
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
873-81
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Amino Acid Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Binding Sites, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Caenorhabditis elegans, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Conserved Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-DNA, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-DNA-Binding Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Drosophila Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Drosophila melanogaster, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Gene Expression Regulation, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Helminth Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Insect Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Male, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Molecular Sequence Data, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Promoter Regions, Genetic, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Sex Determination Processes, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Transcription, Genetic, pubmed-meshheading:9927589-Vitellogenins
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Similarity of DNA binding and transcriptional regulation by Caenorhabditis elegans MAB-3 and Drosophila melanogaster DSX suggests conservation of sex determining mechanisms.
pubmed:affiliation
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics Graduate Program, and Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't