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PMID: 19628867 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Synchronous and stochastic patterns of gene activation in the Drosophila embryo.

Science (New York, N.Y.) ·Vol. 325 ·No. 5939 ·2009-07-24 ·Pages 471-3

Boettiger AN, Levine M

Abstract

Drosophila embryogenesis is characterized by rapid transitions in gene activity, whereby crudely distributed gradients of regulatory proteins give way to precise on/off patterns of gene expression. To explore the underlying mechanisms, a partially automated, quantitative in situ hybridization method was used to visualize expression profiles of 14 developmental control genes in hundreds of embryos. These studies revealed two distinct patterns of gene activation: synchronous and stochastic. Synchronous genes display essentially uniform expression of nascent transcripts in all cells of an embryonic tissue, whereas stochastic genes display erratic patterns of de novo activation. RNA polymerase II is "pre-loaded" (stalled) in the promoter regions of synchronous genes, but not stochastic genes. Transcriptional synchrony might ensure the orderly deployment of the complex gene regulatory networks that control embryogenesis.

MeSH Terms
Animals Drosophila/genetics Embryo, Nonmammalian Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental Genes, Insect RNA Polymerase II/metabolism Stochastic Processes Transcriptional Activation
Chemicals
RNA Polymerase II
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Boettiger Alistair N
Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Levine Michael
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Article Info
Journal
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Abbr.
Science
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.1173976
Published
2009-07-24
Pages
471-3
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0404511
PMCID
PMC4280267
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM034431 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM34431 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1126/science.1173976 PMC Full Text View journal details
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