The gene Posterior sex combs is referred to in FlyBase by the symbol Dmel\Psc (CG3886, FBgn0005624). It is a protein_coding_gene from Drosophila melanogaster. There is experimental evidence that it has the molecular function: core promoter binding; DNA binding. There is experimental evidence that it is involved in the biological process: axon guidance; syncytial blastoderm mitotic cell cycle; chromatin silencing; chromatin remodeling. 50 alleles are reported. The phenotypes of these alleles are annotated with: embryonic head; embryonic abdomen; macrochaeta; embryonic epidermis; metathoracic leg; mesothoracic leg; alula; embryonic thorax; denticle belt; pigment cell. It has one annotated transcript and one annotated polypeptide. Protein features are: Zinc finger, C3HC4 RING-type; Zinc finger, RING-type; Zinc finger, RING-type, conserved site; Zinc finger, RING/FYVE/PHD-type. Summary of modENCODE Temporal Expression Profile: Temporal profile ranges from a peak of moderately high expression to a trough of very low expression. Peak expression observed within 00-12 hour embryonic stages. Summary of FlyAtlas Anatomical Expression Data: Expression at moderate levels in the following post-embryonic organs or tissues: larval central nervous system. Comments on Affy2 ProbeSet: ProbeSet 1631095_at completely aligns to an exonic region of the only FlyBase-annotated transcript isoform of Psc. Gene sequence location is 2R:8853827..8868499.
User Contributed Data
External Summaries
Phenotypic Description from the Red Book (Lindsley
& Zimm 1992)
Gene/Allele symbols may differ
from current usage
Psc: Posterior sex combs
Psc+ is another gene that may be considered a negative regulator of the BXC or the ANTC. The mutant is homo-
and hemizygous lethal, the embryos showing partial transformation of head and thorax into abdomen and of abdominal segments
1-7 into more posterior ones. Psc/Psc embryos that are also
homozygous for Asx, Pcl, or Scm show stronger posteriorly-directed transformations; the triple mutant Psc Asx Pcl has a
tandem array of posterior abdominal segments including four
abdominal denticle bands in the head region (Jurgens, 1985).
Psc/+ males may have sex combs on second and third legs. The
gene suppresses z1 eye color, which becomes orange-maroon; it
is lethal with Su(z)21 and Su(z)25 and semiviable with Su(z)24
(Wu et al., 1989). Psc and Su(z)2 are both members of the
Su(z)2 complex.
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Summary of FlyAtlas Anatomical Expression Data: Expression at moderate levels in the following post-embryonic organs or tissues: larval central nervous system.
[download data (TSV)]
Guide to FlyAtlas expression level colors
No expression (0 - 9.999)
Low expression (10 - 99.999)
Moderate expression (100 - 499.999)
High level expression (500 - 999.999)
Very high expression (>999.999)
Linear, scaled to maximum expression level
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
Linear, scaled to Moderate expression
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
High
Linear, scaled to High level expression
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
Linear, scaled to Very high expression
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
Very high
log, scaled to maximum expression level
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
log, scaled to Moderate expression
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
High
log, scaled to High level expression
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
log, scaled to Very high expression
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
189.8
Larval Midgut
16.9
Larval Hindgut
23.7
Larval Malpighian Tubules
29.6
Larval Fat Body
14.7
Larval Salivary Gland
57.5
Larval Trachea
49.9
Larval Carcass
34.35
Adult Head
19
Adult Eye
30.225
Adult Brain
42.5
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
29.5
Adult Crop
20.4
Adult Midgut
18.4
Adult Hindgut
13.6
Adult Malpighian Tubules
6.5
Adult Fat Body
9.7
Adult Salivary Gland
31.2
Adult Heart
12.4
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
11
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
13.8
Adult Ovary
96.8
Adult Testis
10.3
Adult Male Accessory Gland
32.8
Adult Carcass
25
Expression Level Scale
None
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
Heatmap
Tissue
Expression Level
Larval Central Nervous System
Larval Midgut
Larval Hindgut
Larval Malpighian Tubules
Larval Fat Body
Larval Salivary Gland
Larval Trachea
Larval Carcass
Adult Head
Adult Eye
Adult Brain
Adult Thoracic-Abdominal Ganglion
Adult Crop
Adult Midgut
Adult Hindgut
Adult Malpighian Tubules
Adult Fat Body
Adult Salivary Gland
Adult Heart
Adult VirginFemale Spermatheca
Adult InseminatedFemale Spermatheca
Adult Ovary
Adult Testis
Adult Male Accessory Gland
Adult Carcass
FlyAtlas Organ/Tissue Expression, larval vs. adult
Summary of modENCODE Temporal Expression Profile: Temporal profile ranges from a peak of moderately high expression to a trough of very low expression. Peak expression observed within 00-12 hour embryonic stages.
[download data (TSV)]
Please Note FlyBase no
longer curates genomic clone accessions so this list
may not be complete
cDNA Clones ( 24 )
Please Note
This section lists
cDNAs and ESTs that fall within the genomic extent
of the gene model, which may include cDNAs and ESTs
of genes within introns, or of overlapping genes.
Please see GBrowse for alignment of the cDNAs and ESTs
to the gene model.
Pc, Scm, Psc, ph-p and ph-d contribute to the PRC1 (Polycomb repressive complex 1). PRC1 directly antagonizes ATP-dependent remodeling of nucleosomal arrays in a purified system and may directly modulate (and be modified by) SWI/SNF (brm/mor) activity.
ph-p, Psc and Pc proteins coimmunoprecipitate from nuclear extracts. Interacting domains are identified and delimited using the two-hybrid system, the interactions are shown to be direct by using an in vitro binding assay.
Psc protein coimmunoprecipitates Pc and ph-d/ph-p indicating they are members of a common multimeric protein complex. These proteins are associated with identical regulatory elements of en and differentially distributed on regulatory sequences of inv.
Most duplications of Pc-group genes neither exhibit anterior transformations nor suppress the extra sex comb phenotype of Pc-group mutations, suggesting that not all Pc-group genes behave as predicted by the mass action model.
Mosaic and expression pattern analysis reveals that the Pc-group genes do not act only in a common complex or pathway: they must have some independent functions.
The mutant phenotypes of Psc, Su(z)2 and Su(z)3, the similarities of the phenotypes and the mutational interactions between them suggest that the products are functionally similar and act at the level of chromatin, possibly as a multimeric complex.
The distinction between 'hopeful' and 'hapless' alleles and intragenic complementation seen among some Psc alleles are consistent with a multidomain structure for the Psc product.
Psc and Su(z)2 gene products are nuclear proteins and are associated with more than 80 sites in the salivary gland polytene chromosomes. There is considerable overlap with the sites that are bound by antibodies to z, Pc and the ph-d/ph-p proteins.
The bithorax complex genes are regulated by the Pc group of genes, acting via 'Pc group response elements' (PREs), that can work even when removed from the normal the bithorax complex context. The Pc group products apparently provide stable memory or imprinting of boundaries which are specified by gap and pair-rule regulators.
The mutant is homo- and hemizygous lethal, the embryos showing partial transformation of head and thorax into abdomen and of abdominal segments 1-7 into more posterior ones. Psc1/Psc1 embryos that are also homozygous for Asx1, Pcl1, or Scm1 show stronger posteriorly-directed transformations; Psc1/+ males may have sex combs on second and third legs. Viability reduced in transheterozygotes in some Psc1/Su(z)2 combinations, lethal in others.
Embryos mutant for two or more Pc-group genes (Pc, Scm, Pcl, Psc, Asx, E(Pc), E(z), ph-d, pho and esc) show strong ectopic en expression, but only weak derepression occurs if embryo is mutant at only one of the Pc group genes.
Beh et al., 2012, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109(18): E1063--EE1071
A core subunit of Polycomb repressive complex 1 is broadly conserved in function but not primary sequence. [FBrf0218164]
Follmer et al., 2012, PLoS Genet. 8(12): e1003135
A polycomb group protein is retained at specific sites on chromatin in mitosis. [FBrf0220402]
Gutiérrez et al., 2012, Development 139(1): 117--127
The role of the histone H2A ubiquitinase Sce in Polycomb repression. [FBrf0216868]
Ji et al., 2012, G3 (Bethesda) 2(12): 1651--1660
In Vivo Regulation of E2F1 by Polycomb Group Genes in Drosophila. [FBrf0220353]
Lo et al., 2012, PLoS ONE 7(10): e47162
Chromatin Modification by PSC Occurs at One PSC per Nucleosome and Does Not Require the Acidic Patch of Histone H2A. [FBrf0219719]
Lo et al., 2012, Mol. Cell 46(6): 784--796
A bridging model for persistence of a polycomb group protein complex through DNA replication in vitro. [FBrf0219798]
Mohd-Sarip et al., 2012, Science 336(6082): 744--747
Transcription-independent function of Polycomb group protein PSC in cell cycle control. [FBrf0218404]
Park et al., 2012, Mech. Dev. 128(11-12): 536--547
Regulation of Polycomb group genes Psc and Su(z)2 in Drosophila melanogaster. [FBrf0217654]
Riddle et al., 2012, PLoS Genet. 8(9): e1002954
Enrichment of HP1a on Drosophila Chromosome 4 Genes Creates an Alternate Chromatin Structure Critical for Regulation in this Heterochromatic Domain. [FBrf0219520]
Sakoparnig et al., 2012, J. Comput. Biol. 19(2): 126--138
Binding profiles of chromatin-modifying proteins are predictive for transcriptional activity and promoter-proximal pausing. [FBrf0217402]
Di Stefano et al., 2011, Genes Dev. 25(1): 17--28
Functional antagonism between histone H3K4 demethylases in vivo. [FBrf0212709]
Enderle et al., 2011, Genome Res. 21(2): 216--226
Polycomb preferentially targets stalled promoters of coding and noncoding transcripts. [FBrf0213048]
Grau et al., 2011, Genes Dev. 25(20): 2210--2221
Compaction of chromatin by diverse Polycomb group proteins requires localized regions of high charge. [FBrf0216473]
Kharchenko et al., 2011, Nature 471(7339): 480--485
Comprehensive analysis of the chromatin landscape in Drosophila melanogaster. [FBrf0213294]
Singer and Gall, 2011, Nucleus 2(5): 403--409
An inducible nuclear body in the Drosophila germinal vesicle. [FBrf0216533]
Strübbe et al., 2011, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108(14): 5572--5577
Polycomb purification by in vivo biotinylation tagging reveals cohesin and Trithorax group proteins as interaction partners. [FBrf0213360]