Department of Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Oct 22;13(10):e0205867. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205867. eCollection 2018.
Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1) proteins are an important family of chromosomal proteins conserved among all major eukaryotic lineages. While HP1 proteins are best known for their role in heterochromatin, many HP1 proteins function in euchromatin as well. As a group, HP1 proteins carry out diverse functions, playing roles in the regulation of gene expression, genome stability, chromatin structure, and DNA repair. While the heterochromatic HP1 proteins are well studied, our knowledge of HP1 proteins with euchromatic distribution is lagging behind. We have created the first mutations in HP1B, a Drosophila HP1 protein with euchromatic function, and the Drosophila homolog most closely related to mammalian HP1α, HP1β, and HP1γ. We find that HP1B is a non-essential protein in Drosophila, with mutations affecting fertility and animal activity levels. In addition, animals lacking HP1B show altered food intake and higher body fat levels. Gene expression analysis of animals lacking HP1B demonstrates that genes with functions in various metabolic processes are affected primarily by HP1B loss. Our findings suggest that there is a link between the chromatin protein HP1B and the regulation of metabolism.
异染色质蛋白 1 (HP1) 蛋白是所有主要真核生物谱系中保守的一类重要染色体蛋白。虽然 HP1 蛋白以其在异染色质中的作用而闻名，但许多 HP1 蛋白也在常染色质中发挥作用。作为一个整体，HP1 蛋白具有多种功能，在基因表达调控、基因组稳定性、染色质结构和 DNA 修复中发挥作用。虽然异染色质 HP1 蛋白已得到充分研究，但我们对具有常染色质分布的 HP1 蛋白的了解还远远落后。我们在果蝇 HP1 蛋白 HP1B 中创造了第一个突变，HP1B 是具有常染色质功能的蛋白，也是与哺乳动物 HP1α、HP1β 和 HP1γ 最密切相关的果蝇同源蛋白。我们发现 HP1B 在果蝇中是非必需蛋白，突变会影响其生育力和动物活动水平。此外，缺乏 HP1B 的动物表现出改变的食物摄入量和更高的体脂肪水平。缺乏 HP1B 的动物的基因表达分析表明，具有各种代谢过程功能的基因主要受到 HP1B 缺失的影响。我们的研究结果表明，染色质蛋白 HP1B 与代谢的调节之间存在联系。
