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Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers
Published on: September 20, 2018
Synergistic recognition of an epigenetic DNA element by Pleiohomeotic and a Polycomb core complex
Adone Mohd-Sarip1, Fabienne Cléard, Rakesh K Mishra
1Department of Biochemistry, Centre for Biomedical Genetics, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Polycomb response elements (PREs) are cis-acting DNA elements that mediate epigenetic gene silencing by Polycomb group (PcG) proteins. Here, we report that Pleiohomeotic (PHO) and a multiprotein Polycomb core complex (PCC) bind highly cooperatively to PREs. We identified a conserved sequence motif, named PCC-binding element (PBE), which is required for PcG silencing in vivo. PHO sites and PBEs function as an integrated DNA platform for the synergistic assembly of a repressive PHO/PCC complex. We termed this nucleoprotein complex silenceosome to reflect that the molecular principles underpinning its assemblage are surprisingly similar to those that make an enhanceosome.
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