An added layer of repression for human genes

Uckelmann, Michael; Davidovich, Chen

doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00519-3

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30 March 2022

An added layer of repression for human genes

A protein complex called the rixosome helps to degrade RNA transcripts that linger after gene expression ceases. This discovery points to distinct roles for the rixosome in regulating chromatin in different species.

Michael Uckelmann
1. Michael Uckelmann is in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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Chen Davidovich
1. Chen Davidovich is in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, and at EMBL-Australia, Clayton, Victoria.
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After gene expression ends, components of the gene-transcription machinery can remain in the vicinity of DNA, along with RNA transcripts. There are known pathways for transcript degradation and for gene repression in human cells — but, so far, these pathways have not been directly linked. Writing in Nature, Zhou et al.¹ describe a pathway for the removal of RNA from inactive human genes that is triggered by key players of the gene-repression machinery.

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Nature 604, 41-42 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00519-3

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