Messina, G., Prozzillo, Y., Bizzochi, G., Marsano, R.M., Dimitri, P. (2022). The Green Valley of Drosophila melanogaster Constitutive Heterochromatin: Protein-Coding Genes Involved in Cell Division Control. Cells 11(19): 3058.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0254727
Publication Type
Review
Abstract
Constitutive heterochromatin represents a significant fraction of eukaryotic genomes (10% in Arabidopsis, 20% in humans, 30% in D. melanogaster, and up to 85% in certain nematodes) and shares similar genetic and molecular properties in animal and plant species. Studies conducted over the last few years on D. melanogaster and other organisms led to the discovery of several functions associated with constitutive heterochromatin. This made it possible to revise the concept that this ubiquitous genomic territory is incompatible with gene expression. The aim of this review is to focus the attention on a group of protein-coding genes resident in D. melanogaster constitutive of heterochromatin, which are implicated in different steps of cell division.
