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.
Cells generate distinct microtubule subtypes by expressing different tubulin isotypes and through tubulin post-translational modifications, such as detyrosination, acetylation, polyglutamylation and polyglycylation. The recent discovery of enzymes responsible for many of these modifications has shown how they may regulate microtubule functions.
The characterization of the Get pathway, which directs the post-translational insertion of tail-anchored proteins into the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), has been driven forward by structural studies and has revealed important parallels and distinctions with the classic co-translational pathway for ER membrane protein insertion.
Trithorax group (TrxG) proteins, which activate transcription, have lived in the shadow of their repressive counterparts, the Polycomb group (PcG) proteins. Recent advances have revealed roles for TrxG proteins in the epigenetic regulation of the cell cycle, senescence, DNA damage and stem cell biology.
X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) celebrated its golden anniversary this year. This Review looks back on key discoveries for how XCI is achieved and highlights how the cell biological mechanisms underlying XCI provide an exemplary model for the control of gene expression.
To maintain chromosome superstructure and integrity, topoisomerases resolve specific DNA superstructures or intermediates that arise from processes such as DNA repair, transcription and replication, and chromosome compaction. Despite decades of study, new insights into the cellular function and regulation of topoisomerases, as well as their use as therapeutic targets, continue to emerge.
