UMMS Affiliation
Program in Systems Biology; Program in Gene Function and Expression
Date
4-8-2012
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Gene Expression Regulation
Disciplines
Genetics and Genomics
Abstract
Recent advances in sequencing technologies have uncovered a world of RNAs that do not code for proteins, known as non-protein coding RNAs, that play important roles in gene regulation. Along with histone modifications and transcription factors, non-coding RNA is part of a layer of transcriptional control on top of the DNA code. This layer of components and their interactions specifically enables (or disables) the modulation of three-dimensional folding of chromatin to create a context for transcriptional regulation that underlies cell-specific transcription. In this perspective, we propose a structural and functional hierarchy, in which the DNA code, proteins and non-coding RNAs act as context creators to fold chromosomes and regulate genes.
Comments
Citation: F1000 Biology Reports 2012, 4:8 (doi:10.3410/B4-8). Link to article on publisher's website
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