RNA at the steering wheel 英文参考文献.docVIP

Minireview RNA at the steering wheel Sabine Schmitt and Renato Paro Address: Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie Heidelberg (ZMBH), University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Correspondence: Renato Paro. Email: paro@zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de Published: 26 May 2006 Genome Biology 2006, 7:218 (doi:10.1186/gb-2006-7-5-218) The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at /2006/7/5/218 ? 2006 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract Expression of the genetic information encoded in our genomes is usually regulated by proteins interacting with the DNA. In some cases, however, noncoding RNAs transcribed from DNA control elements cooperate with histone-modifying enzymes to regulate gene expression, as has recently been shown for noncoding RNA originating from Polycomb- and Trithorax-group response elements. The large majority of DNA sequences of most eukaryotic genomes do not possess any coding capacity. Nevertheless, many of these sequences are transcribed, generating a vast amount of noncoding RNA [1,2]. We are still far from fully understanding the role of this seemingly nonproductive large-scale transcription. In some situations, however, the process of intergenic transcription and the noncoding RNAs generated have been linked to the epigenetic control of gene expression. Intergenic transcripts appear to influence the way chromatin - the complex of DNA and the histones that package it - controls gene expression [3]. suggests that the transcription acts as an anti-silencing mechanism, preventing the PcG proteins from repressing their target genes [7]. A recent study by Sanchez-Elsner et al. [8] now provides a first insight into the molecular basis of this anti-silencing mechanism. The authors show that the noncoding RNAs originating from a PRE/TRE stay associ- ated with the element and anchor a