Condensin I subunit Cap-G is essential for proper gene expression during the maturation of post-mitotic neurons

The condensin complex is essential for mitotic chromosome assembly and segregation during cell divisions, however, little is known about its function in post-mitotic, differentiated cells. Here we report a novel role for the condensin I subunit Cap-G in Drosophila neurons. We show that, despite not requiring condensin for mitotic chromosome compaction, post-mitotic neurons express Cap-G and that knockdown of Cap-G specifically in neurons (from their birth onwards) results in developmental arrest, behavioural defects, and dramatic gene expression changes. These include reduced expression of a subset of neuronal genes and aberrant expression of genes that are not normally expressed in the developing brain. Knockdown of Cap-G in more mature neurons also results in similar phenotypes but to a lesser degree. Furthermore, we see dynamic binding of Cap-G to chromatin at distinct loci in neural stem cells and differentiated neurons. Therefore, Cap-G is essential for proper gene expression in neurons and plays an important role during the early stages of neuronal development. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=197 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/904409v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (43K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@11a48aborg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9912b7org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@19bd19dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@deb7f7_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG