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In mice, the absence of maternalTrim28expression in early male embryos causes loss of DNA methylation and derepression of a non-imprinted gene, which results in lethality.
Three independent studies in human cell lines reveal new functions of membrane contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria and between the ER and peroxisomes.
DNA damage-induced histone degradation results in decreased nucleosome occupancy, which promotes homologous recombination by enhancing the dynamicity of chromatin.
Histone chaperones safeguard the chromatin template and shield histones from promiscuous interactions to ensure their proper storage, transport, post-translational modification, nucleosome assembly and turnover.
In response to steroid ligands, glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activates or represses gene expression in a highly context-specific manner. New evidence suggests that the conformation of GR is allosterically modulated by contextual signals, including DNA sequences, ligands, post-translational modifications and other transcription regulators, and that this supports the assembly of distinct transcription complexes.
Telomere shortening and loss of telomere protection can have a tumour-suppressive effect by mediating proliferation arrest. Ultimately, however, these processes can cause a state of extensive genome instability known as telomere crisis, which can facilitate tumorigenesis by causing oncogenic chromosomal rearrangements, including chromothripsis, kataegis and tetraploidization.
Three microtubule nucleation pathways — initiated from centrosomes, chromatin and existing spindle microtubules — contribute to the assembly of a functional mitotic spindle in animal cells to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. Recent findings have shed light on their relative contributions to building the spindle and on adaptation of the spindle to variations in cell size and shape.
The chemical modifications and structural features of mRNAs are highly dynamic. Together, they regulate the composition and function of the transcriptome by shaping RNA–protein interactions at different stages of the gene expression process.
