REPEATED, PROTEIN-ENCODING HETEROCHROMATIC GENES CAUSE INACTIVATION OF A JUXTAPOSED EUCHROMATIC GENE

Euchromatic genes are often silenced by rearrangements that place them within or near heterochromatin, a phenomenon known as position effect variegation (PEV). However, little is known about molecular structure of cis-acting heterochromatic fragments responsible for PEV, Here we report that heterochromatic cluster containing Stellate repeats, that encode putative regulatory subunit of protein kinase CK2 cause PEV of a reporter white 'mini-gene', it is the first example of an euchromati c gene being silenced because of the proximity to the natural, well-de fined heterochromatic repeat cluster, (C) 1998 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.