Müller Jürg, Verrijzer Peter
EMBL, Gene Expression Programme, Heidelberg, Germany.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2009 Apr;19(2):150-8. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2009.03.001. Epub 2009 Apr 1.
Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are transcriptional repressors that control expression of developmental regulator genes in animals and plants. Recent advances in our understanding of the PcG system include biochemical purifications that revealed a substantial variety in PcG complex composition. These different complexes contain distinct chromatin-modifying activities and engage in cross-talk with other chromatin modifications. Complementing these biochemical analyses, structural studies have begun to provide insight into how PcG proteins interact with each other and with chromatin. Finally, genome-wide binding profiling and the ensuing functional analysis of target gene regulation revealed that the PcG system is not only used for the permanent silencing of developmental regulator genes. Rather, PcG mediated repression also constitutes a mechanism for dynamic control of gene transcription.
多梳蛋白家族（PcG）是一类转录抑制因子，可控制动植物中发育调控基因的表达。我们对PcG系统的理解取得了一些新进展，包括生化纯化，这些纯化揭示了PcG复合物组成的显著多样性。这些不同的复合物具有不同的染色质修饰活性，并与其他染色质修饰相互作用。作为这些生化分析的补充，结构研究已开始深入了解PcG蛋白如何相互作用以及与染色质相互作用。最后，全基因组结合谱分析以及随后对靶基因调控的功能分析表明，PcG系统不仅用于发育调控基因的永久沉默。相反，PcG介导的抑制也是基因转录动态控制的一种机制。
