Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Transcription regulation enters a new phase

A subunit of the enzymatic complex P-TEFb can induce compartmentalization of proteins into liquid-like droplets in cells. This phase separation might help P-TEFb to promote gene transcription.
  1. James Goodrich

    1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  2. Dylan Taatjes

    1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Genomic DNA is not indiscriminately transcribed into RNA. Instead, select sequences are transcribed at any given time or in any given cell type. How this process is regulated has been an active area of research for decades, because of its complexity and importance in embryonic development and disease. In a paper in Nature, Lu et al.1 describe an aspect of transcription regulation that involves liquid–liquid phase separation — a process by which proteins, nucleic acids and other molecules self-organize into liquid-like droplets to enable subcellular compartmentalization.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 558, 197-198 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05244-4

References

  1. Lu, H. et al. Nature 558, 318–323 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ebmeier, C. C. et al. Cell Rep. 20, 1173–1186 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Zhou, Q., Li, T. & Price, D. H. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 81, 119–143 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kwon, I. et al. Cell 155, 1049-1060 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Boehning, M. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/316372 (2018).

  6. Larson, A. G. et al. Nature 547, 236–240 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Strom, A. R. et al. Nature 547, 241–245 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Hnisz, D., Shrinivas, K., Young, R. A., Chakraborty, A. K. & Sharp, P. A. Cell 169, 13–23 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Sanso, M. et al. Genes Dev. 30, 117–131 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ferguson, F. M. & Gray, N. S. Nature Rev. Drug Disc. 17, 353–377 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Li, P. et al. Nature 483, 336–340 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links