A conserved function of the chromatin ATPase Kismet in the regulation of hedgehog expression

►We examined the function of the SNF2 chromodomain-containing protein Kismet in the Drosophila wing. ►Kismet is required for a repression mechanism of hedgehog expression in anterior cells of the wing imaginal disc. ►The contribution of Kismet to the silencing of hedgehog expression is limited to cells with low levels of the repressor form of Cubitus interruptus. ►The function of CHD8, a kismet homolog in Xenopus tropicalis, is also required to regulate sonic hedgehog expression.