RNA-FISH to analyze allele-specific expression.

One of the difficulties associated with the analysis of imprinted gene expression is the need to distinguish RNA synthesis occurring at the maternal vs the paternally inherited copy of the gene. Most of the techniques used to examine allele-specific expression exploit naturally occurring polymorphisms and measure steady-state levels of RNA isolated from a pool of cells. Hence, a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) an be exploited in a heterozygote, by a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)- based procedure, to analyze maternal vs paternal gene expression. The human IGF2R gene was analyzed in this way. Smrzka et al. (1) were thus able to show that the IGF2R gene possesses a hemimethylated, intronic CpG island analogous to the mouse imprinting box. However, IGF2R mRNA was detected that possessed the RFLP from both the maternal and paternal alleles in all but one of the 70 lymphoblastoid samples. (The one monoallelic sample reactivated its paternal allele with continued cell culturing.) It was concluded that monoallelic expression of the human gene is a polymorphic trait occurring in a small minority of all tested samples (reviewed in refs. 2,3). Although this is a sound conclusion, the question remains: Is the human IGF2R gene imprinted?

Identification of a male meiosis-specific gene, Tcte2, which is differentially spliced in species that form sterile hybrids with laboratory mice and deleted in t chromosomes showing meiotic drive.

Tcte2 (t complex testes expressed 2) is a male meiosis-specific gene that maps to band 3.3 of mouse chromosome 17. Two distinct male fertility defects, hybrid sterility and transmission ratio distortion, have previously been mapped to this region. Hybrid sterility arises in crosses between different mouse species and the F1 generation males have defects in the first meiotic division and are sterile. Transmission ratio distortion is shown by males heterozygous for the t haplotype form of chromosome 17 and is a type of meiotic drive in which male gametes function unequally at fertilization. The Tcte2 gene expresses a coding mRNA and a number of putative non-ORF transcripts in meiosis I. A deletion of the 5' part of the locus abolishes Tcte2 expression on the t haplotype form of chromosome 17. Additionally, the series of putative non-ORF RNAs at the Tcte2 locus are differentially spliced in species that show hybrid sterility when crossed to laboratory mice. The identification of polymorphisms in t haplotypes and in different mouse species allows alleles of Tcte2 to be proposed as candidates for loci which contribute to both meiotic drive and hybrid sterility phenotypes. While theoretical considerations have previously been used to propose that speciation and meiotic drive involve alleles of the same genes, Tcte2 is the first cloned candidate gene to support this link at a molecular level.

Identification of regulatory sequences in the gene for 5-aminolevulinate synthase from rat.

The housekeeping enzyme 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS) regulates the supply of heme for respiratory cytochromes. Here we report on the isolation of a genomic clone for the rat ALAS gene. The 5'-flanking region was fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and transient expression analysis revealed the presence of both positive and negative cis-acting sequences. Expression was substantially increased by the inclusion of the first intron located in the 5'-untranslated region. Sequence analysis of the promoter identified two elements at positions -59 and -88 bp with strong similarity to the binding site for nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1). Gel shift analysis revealed that both NRF-1 elements formed nucleoprotein complexes which could be abolished by an authentic NRF-1 oligomer. Mutagenesis of each NRF-1 motif in the ALAS promoter gave substantially lowered levels of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression, whereas mutagenesis of both NRF-1 motifs resulted in the almost complete loss of expression. These results establish that the NRF-1 motifs in the ALAS promoter are critical for promoter activity. NRF-1 binding sites have been identified in the promoters of several nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins concerned with oxidative phosphorylation. The present studies suggest that NRF-1 may co-ordinate the supply of mitochondrial heme with the synthesis of respiratory cytochromes by regulating expression of ALAS. In erythroid cells, NRF-1 may be less important for controlling heme levels since an erythroid ALAS gene is strongly expressed and the promoter for this gene apparently lacks NRF-1 binding sites.