Loss of function of myosin chaperones triggers Hsf1-mediated transcriptional response in skeletal muscle cells

Quality of sequences obtained with CASAVA 1.8.1 (Illumina) workflow. PF reads passing Illumina chastity filter. (XLSX 46 kb

Large scale- and functional analysis for the requirement of TBP-function in early zebrafish development

The differential expression of protein coding genes in specific cell types and during development requires the interaction of transcription factors with regulatory sequences in the proximal promoter to generate diverse expression patterns. In this thesis I address the differential regulatory function of TBP and the core promoter architecture facilitating this differential response in the complexity of the vertebrate organism by exploiting the experimental advantages of the zebrafish embryo model system. The work presented here demonstrates that only a proportion of genes require TBP-function in early zebrafish development and that TBP has a specific role in the clearance of maternal RNAs that includes the miR-430 pathway. These results indicate that TBP plays a major role in the transition from a transcriptionally inactive state to a transcriptionally active phase of the zebrafish embryo and has distinct functions in regulating gene expression during development. Furthermore, the bioinformatic characterisation of promoters regulated by TBP, as well as the functional analysis of the notail promoter, indicate that the TATA box, the core promoter motif TBP binds to, is not the defining feature of TBP-dependent transcription initiation mechanisms

Maintenance of Zebrafish Lines at the European Zebrafish Resource Center

We have established a European Zebrafish Resource Center (EZRC) at the KIT. This center not only maintains and distributes a large number of existing mutant and transgenic zebrafish lines but also gives zebrafish researchers access to screening services and technologies such as imaging and high-throughput sequencing, provided by the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics (ITG). The EZRC maintains and distributes the stock collection of the Nüsslein-Volhard laboratory, comprising over 2000 publicly released mutations, as frozen sperm samples. Within the framework of the ZF-HEALTH EU project, the EZRC distributes over 10,000 knockout mutations from the Sanger Institute (United Kingdom), as well as over 100 mutant and transgenic lines from other sources. In this article, we detail the measures we have taken to ensure the health of our fish, including hygiene, quarantine, and veterinary inspections

Highly conserved elements discovered in vertebrates are present in non-syntenic loci of tunicates, act as enhancers and can be transcribed during development

Co-option of cis-regulatory modules has been suggested as a mechanism for the evolution of expression sites during development. However, the extent and mechanisms involved in mobilization of cisregulatory modules remains elusive. To trace the history of non-coding elements, which may represent candidate ancestral cis-regulatory modules affirmed during chordate evolution, we have searched for conserved elements in tunicate and vertebrate (Olfactores) genomes. We identified, for the first time, 183 non-coding sequences that are highly conserved between the two groups. Our results show that all but one element are conserved in non-syntenic regions between vertebrate and tunicate genomes, while being syntenic among vertebrates. Nevertheless, in all the groups, they are significantly associated with transcription factors showing specific functions fundamental to animal development, such as multicellular organism development and sequence-specific DNA binding. The majority of these regions map onto ultraconserved elements and we demonstrate that they can act as functional enhancers within the organism of origin, as well as in cross-transgenesis experiments, and that they are transcribed in extant species of Olfactores. We refer to the elements as 'Olfactores conserved non-coding elements'. \uc2\ua9 The Author(s) 2013. Published by Oxford University Press

The TATA-binding protein regulates maternal mRNA degradation and differential zygotic transcription in zebrafish

Early steps of embryo development are directed by maternal gene products and trace levels of zygotic gene activity in vertebrates. A major activation of zygotic transcription occurs together with degradation of maternal mRNAs during the midblastula transition in several vertebrate systems. How these processes are regulated in preparation for the onset of differentiation in the vertebrate embryo is mostly unknown. Here, we studied the function of TATA-binding protein (TBP) by knock down and DNA microarray analysis of gene expression in early embryo development. We show that a subset of polymerase II-transcribed genes with ontogenic stage-dependent regulation requires TBP for their zygotic activation. TBP is also required for limiting the activation of genes during development. We reveal that TBP plays an important role in the degradation of a specific subset of maternal mRNAs during late blastulation/early gastrulation, which involves targets of the miR-430 pathway. Hence, TBP acts as a specific regulator of the key processes underlying the transition from maternal to zygotic regulation of embryogenesis. These results implicate core promoter recognition as an additional level of differential gene regulation during development