Inducible DamID systems for genomic mapping of chromatin proteins in Drosophila

Dam identification (DamID) is a powerful technique to generate genome-wide maps of chromatin protein binding. Due to its high sensitivity, it is particularly suited to study the genome interactions of chromatin proteins in small tissue samples in model organisms such as Drosophila. Here, we report an intein-based approach to tune the expression level of Dam and Dam-fusion proteins in Drosophila by addition of a ligand to fly food. This helps to suppress possible toxic effects of Dam. In addition, we describe a strategy for genetically controlled expression of Dam in a specific cell type in complex tissues. We demonstrate the utility of the latter by generating a glia-specific map of Polycomb in small samples of brain tissue. These new DamID tools will be valuable for the mapping of binding patterns of chromatin proteins in Drosophila tissues and especially in cell lineages.