Drosophila Histone Deacetylases 1 and 3 Selectively Regulate the Transcription of Morphogens Target Genes

Abstract: In eukaryotic cells， histone acetylation plays an important role in the process of RNA transcription. The histone acetylation status is mainly regulated by two classes of enzymes: histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Histone acetylation is carried out by HATs， and this modification is dynamic and can be reversed by HDACs. Thus， we can easily infer that HDACs may render some impact on gene transcription by controlling histone deacetylation. In the current study， we explored the potential role of HDAC1 and HDAC3 in the transcription of several target genes of Wg， Hh and Dpp during Drosophila wing development. Our results showed that Dpp target gene Omb (optomotor-blind) and Hh target gene Ptc (patched) were dramaticly increased upon loss of HDAC1. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) results showed up-regulation of Ptc， Ci (cubitus interruptus) and Omb transcription in HDAC1 mutant fly. As to HDAC3， our data indicated that HDAC3 knock-out resulted in increased expression of Dpp target gene Sal (spalt). RT-qPCR results showed up-regulation of Sal and down-regulation of Vg transcription in HDAC3 mutant fly. However， either overexpression of HDAC1 or HDAC3 had no effect on the target genes expression of Wg， Hh and Dpp. Altogether， our results indicated that HDAC1 and HDAC3 selectively regulated the transcription of morphogens target genes.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2015.06.0003