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Dependence of position-effect variegation in Drosophila on dose of a gene encoding an unusual zinc-finger protein

Abstract

Position-effect variegation is the inactivation in some cells of a gene translocated next to heterochromatin, the region of the chromosome that is permanently condensed. The number of copies of the Drosophila gene Suvar(3)7 is a dose-limiting factor in this phenomenon, and seems from its sequence that it encodes a protein with five widely spaced zinc-fingers. This novel arrangement of zinc-fingers could help in packaging the chromatin fibre into heterochromatin, and also reflect a novel method of controlling the expression from DNA domains.

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Reuter, G., Giarre, M., Farah, J. et al. Dependence of position-effect variegation in Drosophila on dose of a gene encoding an unusual zinc-finger protein. Nature 344, 219–223 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344219a0

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