Chromosome Alignment and Transvection Are Antagonized by Condensin II
Tom A. Hartl,
Helen F. Smith,
Giovanni Bosco*
Polytene chromosome structure is a characteristic of some polyploid
cells where several to thousands of chromatids are closely associated
with perfect alignment of homologous DNA sequences. Here, we
show that
Drosophila condensin II promotes disassembly of polytene
structure into chromosomal components. Condensin II also negatively
regulates transvection, a process whereby certain alleles are
influenced transcriptionally via interallelic physical associations.
We propose that condensin II restricts trans-chromosomal interactions
that affect transcription through its ability to spatially separate
aligned interphase chromosomes.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gbosco{at}email.arizona.edu
