High impact information on cav

• Here, we show that caravaggio, a mutation in the HOAP-encoding gene, causes extensive telomere-telomere fusions in larval brain cells, indicating that HOAP is required for telomere capping [1].
• This suggests that the MRN complex protects Drosophila telomeres by facilitating recruitment of HOAP and HP1 at chromosome ends [2].
• Mutations designed to mimic hyper-phosphorylation render the protein incapable of binding HOAP and the DmORC1 subunit but confer enhanced homo-dimerization and lysine 9-methylated histone H3-binding to the protein [3].

Biological context of cav

• The Drosophila HOAP protein is required for telomere capping [1].
• Peptides that interfere with HP1a/HOAP interactions in co-precipitation experiments also displace HP1 from the heterochromatic chromocenter of polytene chromosomes in larval salivary glands [4].

Other interactions of cav

• We propose that recognition of chromosome ends and recruitment of HP1 and HOAP by DNA damage response proteins is essential for the epigenetic protection of Drosophila telomeres [5].

References