Mitotic bookmarking by transcription factors
Stephan Kadauke1, Gerd A Blobel
1Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. blobel@email.chop.edu.
Epigenetics & Chromatin
|April 4, 2013
Summary
Cellular identity is maintained during mitosis through "mitotic bookmarking," where specific DNA-binding factors remain on chromatin. These factors help transmit regulatory information through the transcriptionally silent cell division phase.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Mitosis involves significant chromatin and nuclear reorganization, leading to global transcription halt.
- Most transcription factors are ejected from mitotic chromatin, posing a challenge for maintaining transcriptional identity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review methods for studying potential mitotic bookmarking factors.
- To summarize current understanding of the in vivo functions of nuclear factors bound during mitosis.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent approaches to study mitotic partitioning of factors.
- Analysis of emerging ideas on in vivo functions of mitotically bound nuclear factors.
Main Results:
- Not all transcriptional marks are erased during mitosis; some histone modifications are stable.
- Certain sequence-specific DNA-binding factors remain bound to select sites on mitotic chromatin.
Conclusions:
- The concept of "mitotic bookmarking" proposes that bound factors transmit regulatory information through the silent mitotic phase.
- Mitotic bookmarking offers a mechanism for maintaining cellular transcriptional identity across cell division.
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