Transcriptional coupling of distant regulatory genes in living embryos

Michal Levo, João Raimundo, Xin Yang Bing, Zachary Sisco, Philippe J. Batut, Sergey Ryabichko, Thomas Gregor () and Michael S. Levine ()
Additional contact information
Michal Levo: Princeton University
João Raimundo: Princeton University
Xin Yang Bing: Princeton University
Zachary Sisco: Princeton University
Philippe J. Batut: Princeton University
Sergey Ryabichko: Princeton University
Thomas Gregor: Princeton University
Michael S. Levine: Princeton University

Nature, 2022, vol. 605, issue 7911, 754-760

Abstract: Abstract The prevailing view of metazoan gene regulation is that individual genes are independently regulated by their own dedicated sets of transcriptional enhancers. Past studies have reported long-range gene–gene associations1–3, but their functional importance in regulating transcription remains unclear. Here we used quantitative single-cell live imaging methods to provide a demonstration of co-dependent transcriptional dynamics of genes separated by large genomic distances in living Drosophila embryos. We find extensive physical and functional associations of distant paralogous genes, including co-regulation by shared enhancers and co-transcriptional initiation over distances of nearly 250 kilobases. Regulatory interconnectivity depends on promoter-proximal tethering elements, and perturbations in these elements uncouple transcription and alter the bursting dynamics of distant genes, suggesting a role of genome topology in the formation and stability of co-transcriptional hubs. Transcriptional coupling is detected throughout the fly genome and encompasses a broad spectrum of conserved developmental processes, suggesting a general strategy for long-range integration of gene activity.

Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04680-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:605:y:2022:i:7911:d:10.1038_s41586-022-04680-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04680-7

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().