Jumeau (Jumu, historically Domina/Dom) is a 719-residue nuclear forkhead/winged-helix transcription factor of the FOXN group; in the PANTHER 19.0 classification it falls in the FOXN4 subfamily together with vertebrate FOXN4. It binds Forkhead sites in cis-regulatory DNA and can act as a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor, as shown for the Nidogen cardiac enhancer, where it cooperates with the forkhead factor CHES-1-like. Jumu is also required for expression of a large set of mesodermal genes, many of them cell-division genes, although direct activation of those targets has not been shown. The protein accumulates at the polytene chromocenter, at specific euchromatic bands and in the nucleolus; jumu dosage modifies position-effect variegation and nucleolar and chromatin morphology. Through these transcriptional programs Jumu acts in asymmetric sibling-neuron fate decisions in the embryonic CNS, symmetric and asymmetric cardiac progenitor divisions (upstream of Polo kinase), larval hematopoiesis and wound-induced JAK/STAT activation, and eye and wing morphogenesis.
IDA PMID:17412918 Genes required for mitotic spindle assembly in Drosophila S2...
ACCEPT
Summary: Jumu is a chromatin-associated forkhead transcription factor; chromatin localization is independently supported by polytene chromosome immunostaining.
Reason: The cited genome-wide S2-cell RNAi/localization study is abstract-only in the cache, so the exact Jumu observation cannot be inspected; the FlyBase curator read the full text. The claim is biologically sound and independently supported by immunostaining showing DOM/Jumu at the chromocenter and specific euchromatic loci of polytene chromosomes, as expected for a sequence-specific DNA-binding factor. Chromatin is the appropriate general location for a DNA-bound transcription factor and is accepted.
IDA PMID:20213139 The winged-helix transcription factor JUMU regulates develop...
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Summary: Jumu is detected at specific euchromatic loci of polytene chromosomes.
Reason: Euchromatic binding is directly observed (specific euchromatic bands) and is consistent with Jumu binding its target cis-regulatory elements. The term is as precise as the evidence allows, but the euchromatin sub-compartment is a descriptive detail of chromatin residence rather than a core aspect of the transcription-factor function captured by chromatin and nucleus.
DOM protein is accumulated in the chromocenter and, as expected from a transcription factor, is found at specific euchromatic loci.
GO:0000976 transcription cis-regulatory region binding
IDA PMID:22378636 Differential regulation of mesodermal gene expression by Dro...
MODIFY
Summary: EMSA shows Jumu binds a specific Forkhead site (Fkh2) in the Nidogen cardiac enhancer, and mutating the Fkh sites abolishes Jumu-mediated repression in vivo.
Reason: The binding is sequence specific (Jumu binds only the wild-type Fkh2 site and is competed by wild-type but not mutated probe) and occurs at a functional enhancer. The more precise term GO:0000987 cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding, which the gene already carries via IBA, captures this better than the generic cis-regulatory region binding term.
By contrast, the binding of Jumu was detected in vitro only at the Fkh2 site, with only an excess of wild-type but not mutated Fkh2 unlabeled probe being capable of competing.
Overexpression of Jumu is unable to repress reporter expression from an enhancer with mutations in all three Fkh sites.
GO:0000987 cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding
IBA GO_REF:0000033
ACCEPT
Summary: Inherited forkhead cis-regulatory DNA binding, confirmed for Jumu itself by EMSA on the Nidogen enhancer.
Reason: The PAINT node PTN000216159 draws on mouse Foxn4 (MGI:2151057) and human FOXN4 (Q96NZ1), and in the PANTHER 19.0 classification Jumu falls in the same subfamily as these FOXN4 orthologs (PTHR13962:SF17), so Jumu sits inside the clade that inherited the function. Target-specific EMSA and enhancer-mutation data independently confirm sequence-specific cis-regulatory DNA binding.
By contrast, the binding of Jumu was detected in vitro only at the Fkh2 site, with only an excess of wild-type but not mutated Fkh2 unlabeled probe being capable of competing.
Summary: Correct but generic; Jumu binds specific Forkhead sites in cis-regulatory DNA.
Reason: DNA binding is true but uninformative. The forkhead DNA-binding domain (residues 411-508) and direct EMSA evidence support the more specific GO:0000987 cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding, already carried by the gene.
By contrast, the binding of Jumu was detected in vitro only at the Fkh2 site, with only an excess of wild-type but not mutated Fkh2 unlabeled probe being capable of competing.
Summary: Jumu is a sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factor; the activity directly shown for it is RNA polymerase II-specific repression of the Nidogen enhancer.
Reason: The IBA is phylogenetically sound (donors mouse and zebrafish Foxn4, which share PANTHER 19.0 subfamily PTHR13962:SF17 with Jumu). For Jumu itself, cis and trans assays show it binds a Forkhead site and represses an enhancer of an RNA polymerase II-transcribed gene in a site-dependent manner, which meets the evidence standard for GO:0001227. Jumu is also required for expression of many mesodermal genes, but direct activation has not been demonstrated (the authors state that direct targets remain to be tested), so the activator subtype is not asserted.
Propagation Review
Root cause:NO FAILURE CORE
Sources checked:
PANTHER:PTN000216159 · FOXN2/3/4-containing PAINT node SUPPORTS TRANSFER
Donors (mouse and zebrafish Foxn4) share PANTHER 19.0 subfamily PTHR13962:SF17 with Jumu; the transferred generic TF activity is correct, and MODIFY only refines it to the repressor subtype demonstrated for Jumu itself.
Summary: Forkhead-domain mapping to TF activity is correct; the directly evidenced activity is RNA polymerase II-specific repression.
Reason: Consistent with the IBA row for the same term. The forkhead domain mapping is correct, and target-specific enhancer assays support the more specific GO:0001227.
Summary: Nuclear localization, inherited across FOXN proteins and directly observed for Jumu.
Reason: Jumu's own experimental nuclear localization (FB:FBgn0015396 among the donors) is part of the evidence the PAINT curator used; this is expected, not circular. Direct immunostaining confirms nuclear Jumu.
IDA PMID:27514026 The composition and organization of Drosophila heterochromat...
ACCEPT
Summary: GFP-tagged Jumu was imaged in S2 cells in a heterochromatin protein localization screen.
Reason: The table in this full-text paper lists the jumu-RA construct among the imaged proteins but notes that fewer than 1% of cells expressed it; nuclear localization is nonetheless consistent with the independent immunostaining evidence and is accepted.
IDA PMID:10940625 Domina (Dom), a new Drosophila member of the FKH/WH gene fam...
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Summary: DOM/Jumu immunostains polytene chromosomes at the chromocenter and specific euchromatic bands.
Reason: Direct observation and as precise as the evidence allows; polytene chromosomes are a tissue-specific chromosome form, so this is a non-core refinement of the chromatin location.
IDA PMID:10940625 Domina (Dom), a new Drosophila member of the FKH/WH gene fam...
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Summary: DOM/Jumu accumulates in the chromocenter.
Reason: Directly observed and linked to Jumu's dosage-dependent modification of position-effect variegation. The heterochromatic role is genuine but secondary to its sequence-specific transcriptional function.
IDA PMID:10940625 Domina (Dom), a new Drosophila member of the FKH/WH gene fam...
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Summary: A pool of Jumu is nucleolar.
Reason: The cached PMID:10940625 abstract does not mention the nucleolus, but the curator read the full text and the later PMID:20213139 abstract independently reports nucleolar JUMU. Supported but peripheral to the core transcription-factor function.
IMP PMID:20213139 The winged-helix transcription factor JUMU regulates develop...
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Summary: Jumu dosage alters polytene chromatin structure and heterochromatin spreading, and heterozygotes suppress position-effect variegation.
Reason: Altered jumu dosage changes chromosome-arm structure, chromocenter integrity and HP1 spreading, and Jumu sits at the chromocenter, so a role in chromatin organization is plausible and supported by the curator's reading. Whether Jumu acts structurally (its winged-helix domain resembles linker histone H1/H5) or indirectly through the genes it regulates is unresolved, so the term is kept as non-core rather than core.
Overexpression of jumu results in bloating of euchromatic chromosome arms, displacement of the JUMU protein from the chromocenter and the nucleolus, fragile weak points, and disrupted chromocenter of polytene chromosomes.
Heterozygous Dom flies are morphologically wild type but show suppression of position-effect variegation.
GO:0006355 regulation of DNA-templated transcription
IBA GO_REF:0000033
MODIFY
Summary: Correct but general; Jumu directly represses RNA polymerase II transcription from the Nidogen enhancer.
Reason: The inherited process is sound (FOXN2/3/4 node). The directly shown Jumu process is repression of an RNA polymerase II-transcribed gene through Forkhead sites, so GO:0000122 is the specific supported term. Activation of mesodermal genes is documented only by expression profiling without direct-target validation and is not asserted.
Propagation Review
Root cause:NO FAILURE CORE
Sources checked:
PANTHER:PTN000216159 · FOXN2/3/4-containing PAINT node SUPPORTS TRANSFER
Inherited transcription regulation is correct for Jumu; MODIFY refines it to the RNA polymerase II repression shown experimentally for Jumu.
IMP PMID:20213139 The winged-helix transcription factor JUMU regulates develop...
KEEP AS NON CORE
Summary: Correct jumu dosage is required for nucleolar integrity, and overexpressing the acidic C terminus alone disorganizes the nucleolus.
Reason: Directly reported genetic result with a nucleolar pool of the protein. The mechanism is unknown and may be indirect, so it is retained as non-core.
TAS PMID:12147138 Signaling pathways directing the movement and fusion of epit...
UNDECIDED
Summary: The TAS cites a general dorsal-closure review whose cached abstract does not mention jumu.
Reason: The review's full text is not cached, so the jumu-specific statement the curator relied on cannot be checked, and none of the primary jumu papers available here describe a dorsal-closure defect. The annotation is neither confirmed nor contradicted.
IMP PMID:22814603 Two forkhead transcription factors regulate the division of ...
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Summary: jumu mutants have cardiac progenitor division, fate-specification and positioning defects.
Reason: Well-supported developmental role, mediated through Polo and a broader cell-division gene network; non-core relative to the transcription-factor activity.
By contrast, the binding of Jumu was detected in vitro only at the Fkh2 site, with only an excess of wild-type but not mutated Fkh2 unlabeled probe being capable of competing.
GO:0046427 positive regulation of receptor signaling pathway via JAK-STAT
IMP PMID:34999256 Jumu is required for the activation of JAK/STAT in Drosophil...
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Summary: Loss of jumu reduces JAK/STAT activity in the lymph gland and after wounding.
Reason: Supported genetic result. Jumu is a transcription factor acting upstream of pathway activity by an undefined, possibly indirect mechanism; non-core.
IMP PMID:22814603 Two forkhead transcription factors regulate the division of ...
KEEP AS NON CORE
Summary: Jumu controls symmetric and asymmetric cardiac progenitor divisions through Polo and a network of cell-division genes.
Reason: Strong genetic and expression evidence that Jumu regulates cell division in cardiac progenitors by controlling expression of division genes (polo, neb, and others). This is a transcriptional regulatory role in a specific lineage, retained as non-core.
Phenotypic analysis of a subset of these targets identified 21 jumu-regulated genes that mediate cardiac progenitor cell division
file:DROME/jumu/jumu-deep-research-falcon.md
Direct functional binding of Jumu to a *neb* enhancer was not demonstrated in that study.
Core Functions
Sequence-specific forkhead transcription factor that binds Forkhead sites in cis-regulatory DNA and represses RNA polymerase II transcription, as shown for the Nidogen enhancer in the embryonic heart.
By contrast, the binding of Jumu was detected in vitro only at the Fkh2 site, with only an excess of wild-type but not mutated Fkh2 unlabeled probe being capable of competing.
Q: Does Jumu directly activate any of its cell-division target genes (for example neb, polo or the 13 genes with nearby Jumu ChIP peaks), or are all activating effects indirect? The answer decides whether Jumu also has DNA-binding transcription activator activity.
Q: Does the Jumu winged-helix domain contribute structurally to chromocenter and nucleolar organization, as its resemblance to linker histone H1/H5 suggests, or are the chromatin and nucleolar phenotypes secondary to misregulated transcription?
Q: Which PANTHER placement is correct for Q9XTP7, PTHR13962:SF17 (official PANTHER 19.0 HMM classification, with vertebrate FOXN4) or PTHR46721:SF3 (UniProt cross-reference)?
Suggested Experiments
Experiment: Mutate Jumu-bound Forkhead motifs in enhancers of candidate activated targets (neb, sti, SMC2) and test reporter activity in wild-type and jumu mutant mesoderm to determine whether Jumu activates them directly.
Experiment: Test whether a DNA-binding-defective Jumu (forkhead-domain point mutant) still localizes to the chromocenter and nucleolus and still modifies position-effect variegation.
External Prediction Reviews
These computational predictions are reviewed separately from the GOA annotation set used for this review. The assessments below are from this project and do not constitute official GO annotations or endorsement by GO/UniProt. They are not included in the existing annotation review above.
The single ProtNLM2 GO prediction, sequence-specific DNA binding, is correct for this forkhead transcription factor but not novel and less precise than the gene's existing cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding annotation, which is supported by EMSA binding of Jumu to a Forkhead site in the Nidogen cardiac enhancer.
LSP — Less precise than existing annotation Review score: 2/2
Prediction method: ProtNLM2 · Version: UniProt API snapshot 2026-09-08
Review rationale: Correct but not novel. EMSAs show that Jumu binds a Forkhead (FkhS-type) site in the Nidogen mesodermal enhancer in a sequence-specific manner, and Jumu cooperates with CHES-1-like to repress that enhancer in the heart. GOA already carries the predicted term itself (IEA, InterPro) and the more specific descendant GO:0000987 cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding (IBA, accepted in the gene review and also proposed there as the refinement of the IDA cis-regulatory region binding row); GO:0000987 is_a GO:0043565 (OLS4 ancestry), so the prediction is less precise than an existing supported annotation.
Supporting Evidence:
PMID:22378636: "Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) confirmed that three Drosophila mesodermal Fkh TFs bind to these sites (Fig. 1E-H). Although the binding to some of these sites is relatively weak, albeit sequence specific"
PMID:22378636: "CHES-1-like cooperates with Jumu to repress this enhancer in the heart."
PMID:22378636: "different combinations of Fkh sites, corresponding to two different sequence specificities, mediate the particular functions of each TF."
jumeau (jumu) encodes a multi-functional transcription factor that acts upstream of a Polo-kinase dependent pathway in one report. Its roles include asymmetric protein localization, chromatin modification, dendrite formation and organ (eye, wing and bristle) development.