Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Oct 16;350(6258):325-8.
doi: 10.1126/science.aac6948.

Suboptimization of developmental enhancers

Emma K Farley  1 , Katrina M Olson  2 , Wei Zhang  3 , Alexander J Brandt  4 , Daniel S Rokhsar  5 , Michael S Levine  1
Affiliations

Suboptimization of developmental enhancers

Emma K Farley et al. Science. .

Abstract

Transcriptional enhancers direct precise on-off patterns of gene expression during development. To explore the basis for this precision, we conducted a high-throughput analysis of the Otx-a enhancer, which mediates expression in the neural plate of Ciona embryos in response to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling and a localized GATA determinant. We provide evidence that enhancer specificity depends on submaximal recognition motifs having reduced binding affinities ("suboptimization"). Native GATA and ETS (FGF) binding sites contain imperfect matches to consensus motifs. Perfect matches mediate robust but ectopic patterns of gene expression. The native sites are not arranged at optimal intervals, and subtle changes in their spacing alter enhancer activity. Multiple tiers of enhancer suboptimization produce specific, but weak, patterns of expression, and we suggest that clusters of weak enhancers, including certain "superenhancers," circumvent this trade-off in specificity and activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Otx-a enhancer is activated by FGF and maternal determinant GATA
(A) Expression of direct activators of Otx-a enhancer, FGF and GATA. (B) The sequence of the 69-bp Otx-a enhancer, showing the five core binding sites: three for GATA (GATA) and two for ETS (GGAA). The core binding site is defined as the 4 bp recognized by all GATA and ETS transcription factors, and they are the major sites of protein-DNA interactions (32, 33). RS Otx-a enhancer variants retain all five core binding sites with the remaining sequence (49 bp) randomized. (C) Otx-a enhancer drives expression in the a6.5 (dark green) and b6.5 (light green) lineages, beginning at gastrulation. In the tailbud stage, a6.5 cells give rise to the anterior brain (br) and palps (pal), and b6.5 cells give rise to the dorsal nerve cord (nc), dorsal epidermis (epi), and two tail muscle cells (not shown).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Suboptimal binding sites are sufficient for tissue-specific expression
(A) Embryo electroporated with WT Otx-a enhancer; GFP can be seen in the anterior brain (br), palps (pal), dorsal nerve cord (nc), dorsal midline epidermis (epi), and two tail muscle cells (tm). (B) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a RS1, a synthetic enhancer variant identified in our screen that shows no GFP expression. (C) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a RS1opt, with all five core sites changed to have optimized flanking sequence; expression can be seen in endogenous location and in notochord, mesenchyme, endoderm, and posterior brain. (D) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a RS1 WT with all five core sites mutated to have WT flanking sequences; expression can be seen in endogenous Otx-a location only. (E) Sequence of WT, Otx-a RS1, Otx-a RS1 opt, and Otx-a RS1 WT enhancer variants. Gray boxes highlight bases conserved in WT Ciona intestinalis Otx-a sequence; pink boxes highlight bases that were changed to match identified “optimal” flanking motifs. All images were taken at the same exposure time, 500 ms.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Suboptimization of spacing and flanking motifs is required for tissue specificity
Spacing between adjacent binding sites is important for tissue specificity. (A) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a 46 (10-15-13 spacing); GFP expression can be seen in WT location. (B) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a 49 (13-15-13 spacing); addition of 3 bp between GATA1 and ETS1 leads to a significant increase in neural expression; and no ectopic expression is seen. (C) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a 46opt (10-15-13 spacing and all five core sites with optimized flanking); expression can be seen at higher levels in WT location and ectopic expression in notochord, mesenchyme, and posterior brain. (D) Embryo electroporated with Otx-a 49opt (13-15-13 spacing and all five core sites with optimized flanking); this enhancer shows strong expression in the endogenous neural location and ectopic expression in the notochord, posterior neural tube, and endoderm (see also fig. S12). All images were taken at the same exposure time, 250 ms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Acampora D, et al. Brain Res Bull. 2005;66:410–420. - PubMed
    1. Beby F, Lamonerie T. Exp Eye Res. 2013;111:9–16. - PubMed
    1. Rothbächer U, Bertrand V, Lamy C, Lemaire P. Development. 2007;134:4023–4032. - PubMed
    1. Khoueiry P, et al. Curr Biol. 2010;20:792–802. - PubMed
    1. Bertrand V, Hudson C, Caillol D, Popovici C, Lemaire P. Cell. 2003;115:615–627. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Associated data