In this week's Science, Na Xu and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School report that mouse X chromosomes transiently pair with each other during early cell differentiation, revealing a key step in X inactivation, in which only one X remains active in females. The authors suggest that interchromosomal interactions may be a common way of regulating gene expression."For monoallelically expressed genes, (pairing) may be a more common thing than we think," said Christine Disteche of the University of Washington in Seattle, who was not involved in the study. "Maybe we haven't looked hard enough." A stretch of DNA on the mammalian X chromosome called the X-inactivation center (Xic) contains several RNA-coding genes crucial for normal X inactivation, including Xist, its antisense transcript Tsix, and Xite. Tsix and Xite mediate two key processes in the beginning of X inactivation: "counting," in which a cell...
TsixXiteXistcisXicJeannie LeeThe Scientisthas been hypothesizedsituchromosome conformation capture (3C)XicTsixXiteTsixXiteTsixXiteEdith HeardstudyNature Cell BiologyThe ScientistYork Marahrenstransimprinted lociautosomal locimlp@nasw.orgScience http://www.sciencemag.orgThe Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22808/http://depts.washington.edu/mcb/facultyinfo.php?id=45The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22626/http://genetics.mgh.harvard.edu/LeeWeb/Genes & DevelopmentPM_ID:10541548SciencePM_ID:11847345Nature GeneticsPM_ID:12145659Molecular CellPM_ID:12667455http://www.curie.fr/recherche/themes/equipe_histoire.cfm/id_equipe/63/lang/_gb.htmNature Cell Biologyhttp://www.nature.com/ncb/http://www.genetics.ucla.edu/labs/marahrens/SciencePM_ID:8614834Nature GeneticsPM_ID:12577058
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