OVO Transcriptionally Regulates Essential Maternal Pathways in the Drosophila Female Germline

Khái niệm cốt lõi

OVO is a master transcriptional regulator that directly binds and activates the expression of genes involved in essential maternal pathways for oocyte development and early embryonic development in Drosophila.

Tóm tắt

The study investigates the genome-wide binding and transcriptional regulatory role of the zinc-finger protein OVO in the Drosophila female germline. Key findings:

OVO preferentially binds near the transcriptional start sites (TSSs) of its target genes across the genome. OVO binding sites are enriched for a 5'-TAACNGT-3' DNA binding motif.

OVO binding is associated with open chromatin and transcriptionally active histone marks (H3K27ac, H3K4me3), suggesting a positive regulatory role. OVO binding is depleted at regions with repressive histone marks (H3K9me3, H3K27me3).

Integrating OVO ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data, the authors found that 525 genes bound and upregulated by OVO are known to be essential maternal factors involved in processes like axis specification, germ plasm formation, egg activation, and maternal mRNA regulation.

The authors propose that OVO acts as a master transcriptional regulator, directly activating the expression of a large number of genes required for oocyte development and early embryonic development in Drosophila.

Thống kê

"OVO preferentially binds in close proximity to target TSSs genome-wide."
"525 genes that are bound and increase in expression downstream of OVO are known to be essential maternally expressed genes."

Trích dẫn

"This suggests that OVO is a master transcriptional regulator of oocyte development and is responsible for the expression of structural components of the egg as well as maternally provided RNAs that are required for early embryonic development."
"Together, we show that OVO plays a pivotal role in the positive transcriptional regulation of oocyte and early embryonic development."

Thông tin chi tiết chính được chắt lọc từ

OVO Positively Regulates Essential Maternal Pathways by Binding Near the Transcriptional Start Sites in the Drosophila Female Germline

by Benner,L., M... lúc www.biorxiv.org 11-04-2023

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.11.01.565184v3

Yêu cầu sâu hơn

What other transcription factors or chromatin regulators might cooperate with OVO to orchestrate the transcriptional program for oocyte development?

OVO plays a pivotal role in the positive transcriptional regulation of oocyte and early embryonic development. To orchestrate the transcriptional program for oocyte development, OVO may cooperate with other transcription factors and chromatin regulators. One potential collaborator could be GAF (Trl), as the motif for GAF was significantly enriched in OVO ChIP peaks. Since GAF activity is required in the germline during oogenesis, it is plausible that OVO and GAF work together to regulate gene expression in the female germline. Additionally, the presence of other enriched motifs in OVO ChIP peaks, such as 5’-ACACACACACACACA-3’ and 5’-RCAACAACAACAACA-3’, suggests the involvement of other transcription factors that recognize these motifs. Further investigation into these factors could provide insights into the collaborative network involved in oocyte development.

How does the binding of OVO to promoters compare to its potential binding at distal enhancers, and what are the functional implications of these different binding modes?

The binding of OVO to promoters is characterized by its preferential association with the transcriptional start sites (TSSs) of target genes. OVO occupancy is enriched near TSSs, indicating a direct role in regulating gene expression at the core promoter level. This precise binding at promoters suggests that OVO may be involved in facilitating the recruitment of the basal transcriptional machinery or preconditioning the core promoter region for transcription initiation. In contrast, the binding of OVO at distal enhancers, if present, would suggest a role in long-range chromatin interactions and enhancer-promoter looping. This mode of binding could enable OVO to regulate gene expression by influencing the spatial organization of chromatin and facilitating long-distance communication between enhancers and promoters. The functional implications of these different binding modes are significant, as promoter binding allows for direct regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional initiation site, while enhancer binding enables the modulation of gene expression through long-range interactions and chromatin looping.

Given the essential role of OVO in the female germline, are there any parallels in the transcriptional regulation of oogenesis and spermatogenesis across species?

The essential role of OVO in the female germline and its involvement in the positive transcriptional regulation of oocyte development suggest parallels in the transcriptional regulation of oogenesis and spermatogenesis across species. In Drosophila, OVO is required for female germline viability and plays a key role in activating the expression of genes essential for oocyte and early embryonic development. Similarly, in other species, there are transcription factors and regulators that are crucial for the differentiation and maturation of germ cells in both females and males. For example, in mammals, factors like SOX9 and DMRT1 are involved in male germ cell development, while factors like FOXL2 and NOBOX play critical roles in female germ cell development. These factors exhibit parallels to OVO in terms of their importance in germ cell viability and differentiation. The conserved functions of these transcriptional regulators across species suggest common mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation of oogenesis and spermatogenesis, highlighting the fundamental importance of these processes in reproductive biology.