Influence of DNA structure and nucleosome positioning on transcriptional regulation in Methanococcus voltae

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Albrecht Klein
• Subject Area: General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
• Term: from 2001 to 2005
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5313728

Archaea are a group of unicellular microorganisms which unite properties of bacteria and higher organisms. This is particularly pertinent for mechanisms of gene regulation. Archaea are thus excellent model systems for the investigation of basic regulatory mechanisms. The necessary interaction between regulatory protein factors and their signal sequences on the DNA in front of the regulated genes can be modulated by DNA structure and nucleosomes. Nucleosomes have a simpler structure in archaea than in eukaryotes. The influence on transcriptional regulation of the DNA structure in a regulatory region as well as the presence of nucleosomes will be studied in an intergenic region that controls two divergent transcription units in Methanococcus voltae which are coordinately regulated. It contains all necessary regulatory cis-elements. The DNA structure can be predicted with the help of a published algorithm which correlates calculated structures with those determined by electrophoresis. Changes in the sequence of the intergenic region will allow an investigation of the structure-function relationship of this region. In order to establish their potential role in transcriptional regulation the presence and position of nucleosomes in the intergenic region will be determined, modified by structural changes in the DNA. Possible resulting changes of the gene regulation will be investigated.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1112: Genome Function and Gene Regulation in Archaea