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Loss of insulator activity by paired Su(Hw) chromatin insulators
E Muravyova1, A Golovnin, E Gracheva
1Department of the Control of Genetic Processes, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117334.
Abstract:
Chromatin insulators are regulatory elements that block the action of transcriptional enhancers when interposed between enhancer and promoter. The Drosophila Suppressor of Hairy wing [Su(Hw)] protein binds the Su(Hw) insulator and prevents enhancer-promoter interaction by a mechanism that is not understood. We show that when two copies of the Su(Hw) insulator element, instead of a single one, are inserted between enhancer and promoter, insulator activity is neutralized and the enhancer-promoter interaction may instead be facilitated. This paradoxical phenomenon could be explained by interactions between protein complexes bound at the insulators.
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