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Related Concept Videos

Master Transcription Regulators02:23

Master Transcription Regulators

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Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a  complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
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Heterochromatin02:38

Heterochromatin

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The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at...
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Spreading of Chromatin Modifications02:25

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The histone proteins in the nucleosomes are post-translationally modified (PTM) to increase or decrease access to DNA. The commonly observed PTMs are methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination of lysine amino acids in the histone H3 tail region. These histone modifications have specific meaning for the cell. Hence, they are called "histone code". The protein complex involved in histone modification is termed as "reader-writer" complex.
Writers
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Co-activators and Co-repressors02:04

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Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
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Euchromatin01:01

Euchromatin

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The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions take up more dye, appearing darker, while the less-compact areas take up less dye and appear lighter. Based on the compaction level, chromatins are classified into two primary forms – euchromatin and heterochromatin.
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Combinatorial Gene Control02:33

Combinatorial Gene Control

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Combinatorial gene control is the synergistic action of several transcriptional factors to regulate the expression of a single gene. The absence of one or more of these factors may lead to a significant difference in the level of gene expression or repression.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 6, 2026

Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers
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Structural basis for targeting the chromatin repressor Sfmbt to Polycomb response elements.

Claudio Alfieri1, Maria Cristina Gambetta, Raquel Matos

  • 1European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.

Genes & Development
|November 5, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Polycomb group (PcG) protein complexes use PhoRC to bind DNA. This interaction is crucial for repressing developmental genes by tethering Sfmbt, enabling PcG complex assembly.

Keywords:
PhoPhoRCPolycombPolycomb response elementSfmbtYY1

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Area of Science:

  • Chromatin biology
  • Molecular genetics
  • Structural biology

Background:

  • Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are essential for gene silencing during development.
  • The assembly and recruitment mechanisms of PcG protein complexes remain incompletely understood.
  • Pleiohomeotic (Pho)-repressive complex (PhoRC) is a core component involved in PcG-mediated repression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the structural basis of PhoRC complex formation.
  • To understand the interaction between Pho and Sfmbt in Drosophila and their human orthologs.
  • To investigate the role of the Pho-Sfmbt interaction in Polycomb repression.

Main Methods:

  • X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of the Drosophila Pho:Sfmbt complex.
  • Structural comparison with human YY1:MBTD1 complexes.
  • Site-directed mutagenesis to assess the functional importance of the Pho-Sfmbt interaction.

Main Results:

  • The crystal structure reveals a tight complex between the Pho spacer region and the 4MBT domains of Sfmbt.
  • Human YY1 binds human 4MBT proteins with lower affinity, explained by structural differences.
  • Disrupting the Pho-Sfmbt interaction abolishes ternary complex formation and gene repression in vivo.

Conclusions:

  • Pho directly tethers Sfmbt to Polycomb Response Elements (PREs).
  • This tethering is essential for the recruitment of other PcG proteins and gene silencing.
  • The Pho-Sfmbt interaction serves as a critical hub for PcG complex assembly at target genes.