Nuclear compartmentalization of odorant receptor genes
Nuclear compartmentalization of odorant receptor genes
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1317036111
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发表时间：
2014-02-18
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Malnic, Bettina
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Armelin-Correa, Lucia M.;Gutiyama, Luciana M.;Malnic, Bettina
气味是由气味受体检测的，气味受体位于鼻子的嗅觉感觉神经元上。每个嗅觉感觉神经元表达一个单一的气味受体基因等位基因从一个大家族的气味受体基因。为了深入了解这种单基因和单等位基因表达的机制，我们研究了嗅觉感觉神经元的3D核组织，并确定了同源气味受体基因等位基因在不同核室中的位置。我们的研究结果表明，嗅觉神经元表现出一个单一的核架构，其特征在于由一个大的中央本地化的组成异染色质块和存在的突出的兼性异染色质域，本地化周围的组成异染色质块。我们还发现，一个给定的气味受体基因的两个同源等位基因经常分离到细胞核中的单独的隔间，其中一个等位基因定位到组成性异染色质块和其他一个定位到更具可塑性的兼性异染色质，或旁边it.Our研究结果表明，这种核区室化可能发挥关键作用的气味受体基因的表达。
Odorants are detected by odorant receptors, which are located on olfactory sensory neurons of the nose. Each olfactory sensory neuron expresses one single odorant receptor gene allele from a large family of odorant receptor genes. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying this monogenic and monoallelic expression, we examined the 3D nuclear organization of olfactory sensory neurons and determined the positions of homologous odorant receptor gene alleles in relation to different nuclear compartments. Our results show that olfactory neurons exhibit a singular nuclear architecture that is characterized by a large centrally localized constitutive heterochromatin block and by the presence of prominent facultative heterochromatin domains that are localized around this constitutive heterochromatin block. We also found that the two homologous alleles of a given odorant receptor gene are frequently segregated to separate compartments in the nucleus, with one of the alleles localized to the constitutive heterochromatin block and the other one localized to the more plastic facultative heterochromatin, or next to it. Our findings suggest that this nuclear compartmentalization may play a critical role in the expression of odorant receptor genes.