Abstract
Since the initial discovery that the DNase I sensitivity of the globin genes in different cell types correlates with globin gene expression1, this relationship has been shown to hold true for a variety of genes, including the genes for ovalbumin2, conalbumin3, α- and β-globin in chicken4,5, several heat-shock proteins in Drosophila6,7, the r-chromatin of Tetrahymena8 and the viral polyoma minichromosome9. Although genes transcribed by RNA polymerases I and II have been studied extensively, the genes transcribed by RNA polymerase III have not. We have therefore investigated the DNase I sensitivity of transfer RNA (tRNA) and oogenetic 5S RNA genes in the liver and erythocyte nuclei of Xenopus laevis. The oogenetic 5S genes are not transcribed in any known somatic cell10,11, and tRNA genes are transcribed in the hepatocyte but are inactive in the erythrocyte. We show here that, although in these two cell types the correspondence between DNase I sensitivity and gene transcription holds good for globin and the ribosomal genes, the tRNA and oogenetic 5S genes are DNase I sensitive in both liver and erythrocyte nuclei. Thus for the genes transcribed by polymerase III the correspondence of sensitivity and expression breaks down.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Weintraub, H. & Groudine, M. Science 193, 848–856 (1976).
Garel, A. & Axel, R. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 3966–3970 (1976).
Kuo, M. T., Mandel, J. L. & Chambon, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 7, 2105–2113 (1979).
Stadler, J. et al. Cell 20, 451–460 (1980).
Bellard, M., Kuo, M. I., Dretzen, G. & Chambon, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 8, 2737–2757 (1980).
Wu, C. Nature 286, 854–860 (1980).
Keene, M. A., Corces, V., Lowenhaupt, K. & Elgin, S. C. R. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 143–146 (1981).
Borchsensius, S., Bonven, B., Leer, J. C. & Westergaard, O. Eur. J. Biochem. 117, 245–250 (1981).
Herbomel, P., Saragosti, S., Blangy, D. & Yaniv, M. Cell 25, 651–658 (1981).
Wegnez, M., Monier, R. & Denis, H. FEBS Lett. 25, 13–20 (1972).
Ford, P. J. & Southern, E. M. Nature new Biol. 241, 7–12 (1973).
Brown, D. D., Wensink, P. C. & Jordan, E. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 68, 3175–3179 (1971).
Jacq, C., Miller, J. R. & Brownlee, G. G. Cell 12, 109–120 (1977).
Miller, J. R. & Melton, D. A. Cell 24, 829–835 (1981).
Peterson, R. C., Doering, J. L. & Brown, D. D. Cell 20, 131–141 (1980).
Hentschell, C. C. & Tata, J. R. Devl Biol. 65, 496–507 (1978).
Korn, K. J. & Gurdon, J. B. Nature 289, 461–465 (1981).
Bryan, P. N., Hofstetter, H. & Birnstiel, M. L. Cell 27, 459–466 (1981).
Clarkson, S. G., Kurer, V. & Smith, H. O. Cell 14, 713–724 (1978).
Gariglio, P., Bellard, M. & Chambon, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 2589–2598 (1981).
Young, N. S., Benz, E. J., Kantor, J. A., Kretschmer, P. & Weinhuis, A. W. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 5884–5888 (1978).
Davidson, E. H. Gene Activity in Early Development 2nd edn (Academic, New York, 1976).
Samal, B., Worcel, A., Louis, C. & Schedl, P. Cell 23, 401–409 (1981).
Pardue, M. L., Brown, D. D. & Birnstiel, M. L. Chromosoma Berl. 42, 191–203 (1973).
Vitelli, L., Batistoni, R., Andronico, F., Nardi, I. & Barsacchi-Pilone, G. Chromosoma Berl. 84, 475–491 (1982).
Marzluff, W. F., Murphy, E. C. & Huang, R. C. C. Biochemistry 12, 3440–3446 (1973).
Schribler, U. & Weber, R. Analyt. Biochem. 58, 225–230 (1974).
Gillespie, D. Meth. Enzym. 12B, 641–668 (1968).
Maniatis, T., Jeffrey, A. & Kleid, D. G. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 1184–1188 (1975).
Wu, C., Bingham, P. M., Livak, K. J., Holmgren, R. & Elgin, S. C. R. Cell 16, 797–806 (1979).
Federoff, N. V. & Brown, D. D. Cell 13, 701–716 (1978).
Brown, D. D. & Gurdon, J. B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 2849–2853 (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Coveney, J., Woodland, H. The DNase I sensitivity of Xenopus laevis genes transcribed by RNA polymerase III. Nature 298, 578–580 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298578a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/298578a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
