Causality in transcription and genome folding: Insights from X inactivation

Bauer, Moritz, 1987-; Payer, Bernhard; Filion, Guillaume

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.202200105

Causality in transcription and genome folding: Insights from X inactivation

License

Citation

Bauer M, Payer B, Filion GJ. Causality in transcription and genome folding: Insights from X inactivation. Bioessays. 2022 Oct;44(10):e2200105. DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200105

Abstract

The spatial organization of genomes is becoming increasingly understood. In mammals, where it is most investigated, this organization ties in with transcription, so an important research objective is to understand whether gene activity is a cause or a consequence of genome folding in space. In this regard, the phenomena of X-chromosome inactivation and reactivation open a unique window of investigation because of the singularities of the inactive X chromosome. Here we focus on the cause-consequence nexus between genome conformation and transcription and explain how recent results about the structural changes associated with inactivation and reactivation of the X chromosome shed light on this problem.