Spitz GroupPublications
An integrated holo-enhancer unit defines tissue and gene specificity of the Fgf8 regulatory landscape.
Marinic, M., Aktas, T., Ruf, S. & Spitz, F.
Dev Cell. 2013 Mar 11;24(5):530-42. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2013.01.025. Epub 2013Feb 28.
Fgf8 encodes a key signaling factor, and its precise regulation is essential for embryo patterning. Here, we identified the regulatory modules that control Fgf8 expression during mammalian embryogenesis. These enhancers are interspersed with unrelated genes along a large region of 220 kb; yet they act on Fgf8 only. Intriguingly, this region also contains additional genuine enhancer activities that are not transformed into gene expression. Using genomic engineering strategies, we showed that these multiple and distinct regulatory modules act as a coherent unit and influence genes depending on their position rather than on their promoter sequence. These findings highlight how the structure of a locus regulates the autonomous intrinsic activities of the regulatory elements it contains and contributes to their tissue and target specificities. We discuss the implications of such regulatory systems regarding the evolution of gene expression and the impact of human genomic structural variations.
PubMed
A regulatory archipelago controls hox genes transcription in digits.
Montavon, T., Soshnikova, N., Mascrez, B., Joye, E., Thevenet, L., Splinter, E., de Laat, W., Spitz, F. & Duboule, D.
Cell. 2011 Nov 23;147(5):1132-45.
The evolution of digits was an essential step in the success of tetrapods. Among the key players, Hoxd genes are coordinately regulated in developing digits, where they help organize growth and patterns. We identified the distal regulatory sites associated with these genes by probing the three-dimensional architecture of this regulatory unit in developing limbs. This approach, combined with in vivo deletions of distinct regulatory regions, revealed that the active part of the gene cluster contacts several enhancer-like sequences. These elements are dispersed throughout the nearby gene desert, and each contributes either quantitatively or qualitatively to Hox gene transcription in presumptive digits. We propose that this genetic system, which we call a "regulatory archipelago," provides an inherent flexibility that may partly underlie the diversity in number and morphology of digits across tetrapods, as well as their resilience to drastic variations. PAPERFLICK:
PubMed
Large-scale analysis of the regulatory architecture of the mouse genome with a transposon-associated sensor.
Ruf, S., Symmons, O., Uslu, V.V., Dolle, D., Hot, C., Ettwiller, L. & Spitz, F.
Nat Genet. 2011 Mar 20;43(4):379-86.
We present here a Sleeping Beauty-based transposition system that offers a simple and efficient way to investigate the regulatory architecture of mammalian chromosomes in vivo. With this system, we generated several hundred mice and embryos, each with a regulatory sensor inserted at a random genomic position. This large sampling of the genome revealed the widespread presence of long-range regulatory activities along chromosomes, forming overlapping blocks with distinct tissue-specific expression potentials. The presence of tissue-restricted regulatory activities around genes with widespread expression patterns challenges the gene-centric view of genome regulation and suggests that most genes are modulated in a tissue-specific manner. The local hopping property of Sleeping Beauty provides a dynamic approach to map these regulatory domains at high resolution and, combined with Cre-mediated recombination, allows for the determination of their functions by engineering mice with specific chromosomal rearrangements.
PubMed
Characterization of mouse Dactylaplasia mutations: a model for human ectrodactyly SHFM3.
Friedli, M., Nikolaev, S., Lyle, R., Arcangeli, M., Duboule, D., Spitz, F. & Antonarakis, S.E.
Mamm Genome. 2008 Apr;19(4):272-8. Epub 2008 Apr 5.
SHFM3 is a limb malformation characterized by the absence of central digits. It has been shown that this condition is associated with tandem duplications of about 500 kb at 10q24. The Dactylaplasia mice display equivalent limb defects and the two corresponding alleles (Dac ( 1j ) and Dac ( 2j )) map in the region syntenic with the duplications in SHFM3. Dac ( 1j ) was shown to be associated with an insertion of an unspecified ETn-like mouse endogenous transposon upstream of the Fbxw4 gene. Dac ( 2j ) was also thought to be an insertion or a small inversion in intron 5 of Fbxw4, but the breakpoints and the exact molecular lesion have not yet been characterized. Here we report precise mapping and characterization of these alleles. We failed to identify any copy number differences within the SHFM3 orthologous genomic locus between Dac mutant and wild-type littermates, showing that the Dactylaplasia alleles are not associated with duplications of the region, in contrast with the described human SHFM3 cases. We further show that both Dac ( 1j ) and Dac ( 2j ) are caused by insertions of MusD retroelements that share 98% sequence identity. The differences between the nature of the human and mouse genomic abnormalities argue against models proposed so far that either envisioned SHFM3 as a local trisomy or Dac as a mutant allele of Fbxw4. Instead, both genetic conditions might lead to complex alterations of gene regulation mechanisms that would impair limb morphogenesis. Interestingly, the Dac ( 2j ) mutation occurs within a highly conserved element that may represent a regulatory sequence for a neighboring gene.
PubMed
