Differential binding of the Bombyx silk gland-specific factor SGFB to its target DNA sequence drives posterior-cell-restricted expression.

The gene encoding the silk protein P25 in Bombyx mori is expressed in the posterior silk gland (PSG) cells and repressed in the middle silk gland (MSG) cells. To identify the factors involved in this transcription-dependent spatial restriction, we examined the P25 chromatin in PSG and MSG nuclei by DNase I-aided ligation-mediated PCR and analyzed the expression of various P25-lacZ constructs in biolistically treated silk glands. P25 promoter activation depends on two cis-acting elements. One coincides with the target sequence of SGFB, a silk gland-specific factor present in all silk gland nuclei, but bound to its target DNA sequence in only PSG cells. The interaction of the other element with a factor that we named PSGF is also exclusive to PSG cells. Placed ahead of a non-P25-related basal promoter, the SGFB and PSGF elements are sufficient to drive posterior-cell transcription. Collectively, our data support the hypothesis that the spatial restriction of P25 expression is driven by the stabilization of SGFB onto its target sequence by the action of PSGF.