Wittkopp Patricia J, Haerum Belinda K, Clark Andrew G
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Genetics. 2008 Mar;178(3):1831-5. doi: 10.1534/genetics.107.082032. Epub 2008 Feb 3.
Biochemical interactions between cis-regulatory DNA sequences and trans-regulatory gene products suggest that cis- and trans-acting polymorphisms may interact genetically. Here we present a strategy to test this hypothesis by comparing the relative cis-regulatory activity of two alleles in different genetic backgrounds. Of the eight genes surveyed in this study, five were affected by trans-acting variation that altered total transcript levels, two of which were also affected by differences in cis-regulation. The presence of trans-acting variation had no effect on relative cis-regulatory activity, showing that cis-regulatory polymorphisms can function independently of trans-regulatory variation. The frequency of such independent interactions on a genomic scale is yet to be determined.
顺式调控DNA序列与反式调控基因产物之间的生化相互作用表明,顺式和反式作用多态性可能在遗传上相互作用。在此,我们提出了一种策略,通过比较两个等位基因在不同遗传背景下的相对顺式调控活性来检验这一假设。在本研究中调查的八个基因中,有五个受到反式作用变异的影响,这些变异改变了总转录水平,其中两个也受到顺式调控差异的影响。反式作用变异的存在对相对顺式调控活性没有影响,这表明顺式调控多态性可以独立于反式调控变异发挥作用。这种独立相互作用在基因组规模上的频率尚待确定。