Dynamics of epigenetic regulation at the single-cell level
Abstract
To explore quantitative and dynamic properties of transcriptional regulation by epigenetic modifications, Bintu et al. monitored a transcriptional reporter gene carried on a human artificial chromosome in Chinese hamster ovary cells (see the Perspective by Keung and Khalil). They measured effects of DNA methylation and histone modifications by methylation or deacetylation in single cells using time-lapse microscopy. Silencing was an all-or-none, stochastic event, so graded adjustments to transcription occurred from changes in the proportion of cells that responded. Furthermore, the duration of recruitment of the chromatin regulators determined the fraction of cells that were silenced. Thus, distinct modifiers can produce different characteristics of epigenetic memory.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 12, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aab2956
Entities
People
- John Yong
- Kayla Mccue
- Lacramioara Bintu
- Michael Elowitz
- Mitsuo Oshimura
- Narumi Uno
- Yaron E. Antebi
- Yasuhiro Kazuki
Organizations
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- California Institute of Technology
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research
- National Institutes of Health
- Tottori University