Book ChapterDOI
MSL proteins and the regulation of gene expression.
Stephen Rea,Asifa Akhtar +1 more
TLDR
The mechanism of dosage compensation in Drosophila is discussed in light of recent developments that have brought into question the previous model of dosage Compensation.Abstract:
Epigenetics describes changes in genome function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence. Dosage compensation is a prime example of the regulation of gene expression by an epigenetic mechanism. Dosage compensation has evolved to balance the expression of sex-linked genes in males and females, which possess different numbers of sex chromosomes. However, the genetic sequence of the chromosomes is the same in both sexes. This mechanism therefore needs (1) to function in a sex-specific manner, (2) to target the sex chromosome from amongst the autosomes and (3) to establish and maintain through development a precise, equalised level of gene expression in one sex compared to the other. The process by which dosage compensation is orchestrated has been well characterised in fruit flies and mammals. Although each has evolved a specific dosage-compensation mechanism, these systems share some underlying themes; the molecular components that mediate dosage compensation in both include non-coding RNA molecules, which act as nucleation points for the compensation process. Both systems utilise chromatin-modifying enzymes to remodel large domains of a chromosome. This review will discuss the mechanism of dosage compensation in Drosophila in light of recent developments that have brought into question the previous model of dosage compensation.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Epigenetic regulation of centromeric chromatin: old dogs, new tricks?
Robin C. Allshire,Gary H. Karpen +1 more
TL;DR: New models for how centromeric chromatin is established and propagated are proposed for the establishment and maintenance of centromere identity and kinetochore assembly.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Expanding Universe of Noncoding RNAs
TL;DR: The 71st Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology celebrated the numerous and expanding roles of regulatory RNAs in systems ranging from bacteria to mammals and revealed how much farther the authors must go to understand fully the biological impact of noncoding RNAs.
Journal ArticleDOI
Gene regulation through nuclear organization
TL;DR: This review highlights mechanistic links between gene position, repression and transcription in the nucleus, and suggests that architectural features have multiple functions that depend upon organization into dedicated subcompartments enriched for distinct enzymatic machinery.
Gcn4 activator targets Gcn5 histone acetyltransferase to specific promoters independently of transcription
TL;DR: In vivo evidence is provided that the yeast transcriptional activator Gcn4 recruits Gcn5 HAT complexes to selective promoters positioned in natural or ectopic locations, thereby creating local domains of histone H3 hyperacetylation and subsequent transcriptional activation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dosage Compensation in the Mouse Balances Up-Regulation and Silencing of X-Linked Genes
Hong Lin,Vibhor Gupta,Matthew D VerMilyea,Francesco Falciani,Jeannie T. Lee,Jeannie T. Lee,Laura P. O'Neill,Bryan M. Turner +7 more
TL;DR: It is proposed that X-linked genes are silenced in female ES cells by spreading of Xist RNA through the X chromosome territory as the cells differentiate, with silencing times for individual genes dependent on their proximity to the Xist locus.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Translating the Histone Code
Thomas Jenuwein,C. David Allis +1 more
TL;DR: It is proposed that this epigenetic marking system represents a fundamental regulatory mechanism that has an impact on most, if not all, chromatin-templated processes, with far-reaching consequences for cell fate decisions and both normal and pathological development.
Journal ArticleDOI
The language of covalent histone modifications.
Brian D. Strahl,C D Allis +1 more
TL;DR: It is proposed that distinct histone modifications, on one or more tails, act sequentially or in combination to form a ‘histone code’ that is, read by other proteins to bring about distinct downstream events.
Journal ArticleDOI
Gene Action in the X -chromosome of the Mouse ( Mus musculus L.)
TL;DR: Ohno and Hauschka1 showed that in female mice one chromosome of mammary carcinoma cells and of normal diploid cells of the ovary, mammary gland and liver was heteropyKnotic and suggested that the so-called sex chromatin was composed of one heteropyknotic X-chromosome.
Journal ArticleDOI
RING finger proteins: mediators of ubiquitin ligase activity.
TL;DR: The field of intracellular protein degradation now leaves the era where mediators of substrate-specific ubiquitination were scarce and enters a new and exciting phase where databases provide us with a large number of candidate E3s awaiting characterization.