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Review
. 2009 Jul;8(4):276-82.
doi: 10.1093/bfgp/elp032.

Chromatin insulators: lessons from the fly

B V Gurudatta  1 , Victor G Corces
Affiliations
Review

Chromatin insulators: lessons from the fly

B V Gurudatta et al. Brief Funct Genomic Proteomic. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Chromatin insulators are DNA-protein complexes with broad functions in nuclear biology. Drosophila has at least five different types of insulators; recent results suggest that these different insulators share some components that may allow them to function through common mechanisms. Data from genome-wide localization studies of insulator proteins indicate a possible functional specialization, with different insulators playing distinct roles in nuclear biology. Cells have developed mechanisms to control insulator activity by recruiting specialized proteins or by covalent modification of core components. Current results suggest that insulators set up cell-specific blueprints of nuclear organization that may contribute to the establishment of different patterns of gene expression during cell differentiation and development.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Diagram showing the different subclasses of Drosophila insulators for which components other than the DNA-binding protein are known. Each subclass contains a different DNA binding protein that may define the specific function of the corresponding subclass. All insulators share the common protein CP190, although the role of this protein in the function of the GAGA insulator has not been demonstrated experimentally. In addition, all subclasses may also have one Mod(mdg4) isoform. The gypsy/Su(Hw) insulator contains Mod(mdg4)2.2. The dCTCF insulator lacks this isoform but contains a different variant of Mod(mdg4) (T. Gerasimova, E. Lei and V. Corces, unpublished observations). It is not known whether the BEAF insulator contains a Mod(mdg4) variant but GAGA has been shown to interact with Mod(mdg4)2.2.
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