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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Investigating Interactions Between Histone Modifying Enzymes and Transcription Factors in vivo by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Published on: October 14, 2022
New insights into transcriptional regulation by H-NS
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 357242, Seattle, WA 98195-7242 USA. fcfang@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
H-NS, a nucleoid-associated DNA-binding protein of enteric bacteria, was discovered 35 years ago and subsequently found to exert widespread and highly pleiotropic effects on gene regulation. H-NS binds to high-affinity sites and spreads along adjacent AT-rich DNA to silence transcription. Preferential binding to sequences with higher AT-content than the resident genome allows H-NS to repress the expression of foreign DNA in a process known as 'xenogeneic silencing.' Counter-silencing by a variety of mechanisms facilitates the evolutionary acquisition of horizontally transferred genes and their integration into pre-existing regulatory networks. This review will highlight recent insights into the mechanism and biological importance of H-NS-DNA interactions.
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