Abstracts (poster) - Wissenschaft Online

Tzvetina Brumbarova, Cecile Doyen, Emilie Bonnefoy, Guillermo Orsi, Pierre Couble,
Benjamin Loppin
HIRA functions in Drosophila
The histone chaperone HIRA is a conserved chromatin assembly factor that is specifically
involved in the assembly of nucleosomes containing the H3 histone variant H3.3. HIRA is
involved in the replication-independent (RI) deposition of core histones, in contrast to
the CAF-1 complex which is responsible for the DNA replication coupled (RC) nucleosome
assembly. Previous work in our group has shown that HIRA has a critical role for the
formation of the male pronucleus during fertilization in Drosophila by allowing the
paternal DNA to recover a nucleosomal chromatin structure and to replicate in
coordination with the maternal DNA [1]. Thus, assembly of paternal chromatin
represents a peculiar case of RI assembly at the scale of a whole nucleus.
Although HIRA is only absolutely required for male pronucleus formation in Drosophila,
analysis of a series of recently generated mutant alleles suggests that this histone
chaperone plays other functions in somatic cells. Data supporting these possible new
roles of HIRA in Drosophila will be presented and discussed.
Literature
[1] Bonnefoy E. et al. (2007) PLoS Genetics 3(10): 1991-2006
contact:
PhD Tzvetina Brumbarova
University of Lyon
tzvetina.brumbarova@cgmc.univ-lyon1.fr
43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918
69622 Villeurbanne (France)