A double take on bivalent promoters

P Voigt, WW Tee, D Reinberg - Genes & development, 2013 - genesdev.cshlp.org
Genes & development, 2013genesdev.cshlp.org
Histone modifications and chromatin-associated protein complexes are crucially involved in
the control of gene expression, supervising cell fate decisions and differentiation. Many
promoters in embryonic stem (ES) cells harbor a distinctive histone modification signature
that combines the activating histone H3 Lys 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) mark and the
repressive H3K27me3 mark. These bivalent domains are considered to poise expression of
developmental genes, allowing timely activation while maintaining repression in the …
Histone modifications and chromatin-associated protein complexes are crucially involved in the control of gene expression, supervising cell fate decisions and differentiation. Many promoters in embryonic stem (ES) cells harbor a distinctive histone modification signature that combines the activating histone H3 Lys 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) mark and the repressive H3K27me3 mark. These bivalent domains are considered to poise expression of developmental genes, allowing timely activation while maintaining repression in the absence of differentiation signals. Recent advances shed light on the establishment and function of bivalent domains; however, their role in development remains controversial, not least because suitable genetic models to probe their function in developing organisms are missing. Here, we explore avenues to and from bivalency and propose that bivalent domains and associated chromatin-modifying complexes safeguard proper and robust differentiation.
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