Chromodomains bind RNA

Male flies compensate for having a single X chromosome by doubling the single X chromosome's level of expression. This increase is mediated by MOF, a histone H4 acetyltransferase. MOF, along with other proteins and an RNA called roX2, binds to the male X chromosome. In the 21 September Nature Akhtar et al. find that MOF and another dosage compensation protein called MSL-3 use their chromodomains to bind to roX2 and thus to the male X (Nature 2000, 407:405-409). Other chromodomain proteins, which function as chromatin regulators, may also have RNA-binding activity. If this is the case, non-coding RNAs may be more commonly involved in organizing regulatory complexes than has been appreciated to date.

1. Dosage compensation in flies and worms: the ups and downs of X-chromosome regulation.

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2. Activation of transcription through histone H4 acetylation by MOF, an acetyltransferase essential for dosage compensation in Drosophila.

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3. The rox1 and rox2 RNAs are essential components of the compensasome, which mediates dosage compensation in Drosophila.

   PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text

4. [http://www.nature.com/nature/] webcite

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