Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Agrobiology and Bioresources, School of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, Japan.
FEBS Open Bio. 2019 Sep;9(9):1573-1579. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.12698. Epub 2019 Jul 27.
The Masculinizer (Masc) gene encodes a CCCH-tandem zinc finger protein that controls both masculinization and dosage compensation in the silkworm Bombyx mori. We previously measured the masculinizing activity of the lepidopteran Masc proteins using B. mori ovary-derived cell line BmN-4. Here, we established an RNA-seq data-based assay system in which the level of B. mori Masc (BmMasc)-induced dosage compensation can be estimated in BmN-4 cells. Using this system, we found that a cysteine residue at position 301, which was shown to be essential for the masculinizing activity of BmMasc, is also required for dosage compensation. We further investigated the relationships between Masc-induced cell growth inhibition, masculinizing activity, and the level of dosage compensation, using Masc genes from three lepidopteran insects. In summary, we have established a cell-based system to monitor levels of Masc-induced dosage compensation.
雄性化基因（Masc）编码一种 CCCH-串联锌指蛋白，它控制着家蚕 Bombyx mori 的雄性化和剂量补偿。我们之前使用家蚕卵巢衍生细胞系 BmN-4 测量了鳞翅目 Masc 蛋白的雄性化活性。在这里，我们建立了一个基于 RNA-seq 数据的测定系统，在该系统中可以估计 B. mori Masc（BmMasc）诱导的剂量补偿在 BmN-4 细胞中的水平。使用该系统，我们发现位置 301 的半胱氨酸残基对于 BmMasc 的雄性化活性是必需的，对于剂量补偿也是必需的。我们进一步研究了三种鳞翅目昆虫的 Masc 基因与细胞生长抑制、雄性化活性和剂量补偿水平之间的关系。总之，我们已经建立了一种基于细胞的系统来监测 Masc 诱导的剂量补偿水平。
