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A tetrad of chromatin interactions for chromosome pairing in X inactivation

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 24, pages 607–608 (2017)Cite this article

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An unusual pairing of homologous X chromosomes occurs during X inactivation. A new study in mouse embryonic stem cells shows that telomeres and the telomeric RNA PAR-TERRA are responsible for additional pairwise interactions that guide Xic–Xic pairing.

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Figure 1: Xic locus in mice.
Figure 2: A model depicting the contribution of multiple pairing interactions to Xic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Ivan Krivega & Ann Dean

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  1. Ivan Krivega
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  2. Ann Dean
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Correspondence to Ann Dean.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Krivega, I., Dean, A. A tetrad of chromatin interactions for chromosome pairing in X inactivation. Nat Struct Mol Biol 24, 607–608 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.3447

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