Involvement of H2A variants in DNA damage response of zygotes.

Phosphorylated H2AX, known as γH2AX, forms in response to genotoxic insults in somatic cells. Despite the high abundance of H2AX in zygotes, the level of irradiation-induced γH2AX is low at this stage. Another H2A variant, TH2A, is present at a high level in zygotes and can also be phosphorylated at its carboxyl end.

Minor zygotic gene activation is essential for mouse preimplantation development.

In mice, transcription initiates at the mid-one-cell stage and transcriptional activity dramatically increases during the two-cell stage, a process called zygotic gene activation (ZGA). Associated with ZGA is a marked change in the pattern of gene expression that occurs after the second round of DNA replication. To distinguish ZGA before and after the second-round DNA replication, the former and latter are called minor and major ZGA, respectively.

Cloning and expression analysis of a novel tissue-specific dopa decarboxylase mRNA splicing variant in Bombyx mori.

Dopa decarboxylase (DDC) protein is involved in the synthesis of dopamine and serotonin. Here, we show that in the silkworm Bombyx mori, a novel DDC splicing variant is selectively expressed in the brain and subesophageal ganglia. In Drosophila melanogaster, a neuron-specific isoform of DDC is known to be alternatively spliced in a similar manner.