New Insights into the Regulation of Heterochromatin

Jiyong Wang; Sharon T Jia; Songtao Jia

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2016.02.005

New Insights into the Regulation of Heterochromatin

Trends Genet. 2016 May;32(5):284-294. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2016.02.005. Epub 2016 Mar 20.

Authors

Jiyong Wang¹, Sharon T Jia¹, Songtao Jia²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: jia@biology.columbia.edu.

Abstract

All living organisms are constantly exposed to stresses from internal biological processes and surrounding environments, which induce many adaptive changes in cellular physiology and gene expression programs. Unexpectedly, constitutive heterochromatin, which is generally associated with the stable maintenance of gene silencing, is also dynamically regulated in response to stimuli. In this review we discuss the mechanism of constitutive heterochromatin assembly, its dynamic nature, and its responses to environmental changes.

Keywords: constitutive heterochromatin; dynamics; epigenetic adaptation; stress.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / genetics*
Gene Expression Regulation
Gene Silencing
Gene-Environment Interaction*
Heterochromatin / genetics*
Histones / genetics
Humans
Transcription, Genetic*

Substances

Heterochromatin
Histones

Grants and funding

R01 GM085145/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States