Come here and be quiet! Genes physically held in silencing 'lock-down' in embryonic stem cells
Monday, August 31, 2015 - 15:00
in Biology & Nature
A strong physical gene interaction network has been discovered that is responsible for holding genes in a silencing grip during early development. In the same way that people can interact with others in close proximity, say within the same room, or others millions of miles apart, there are also short- and long-range interactions within the genome forming a three-dimensional configuration where different parts of the genome come into contact with each other. The research presents how key decision-making genes which specify the embryo's blueprint for subsequent development are physically clustered in the nucleus of embryonic stem cells and maintained in a silent state.