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IMAGE: Researchers have precisely mapped the binding locations of over 400 proteins on the yeast genome using ChIP-exo. The method (top) uses an antibody to 'fish out' a specific DNA-bound protein...
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Credit: Pugh Lab, Cornell and Mahony Lab, Penn State
A massive effort to map the precise binding locations of over 400 different kinds of proteins on the yeast genome has produced the most thorough and high-resolution map of chromosome architecture and gene regulation to date. The study reveals two distinct gene regulatory architectures, expanding the traditional model of gene regulation. So-called constitutive genes, those that perform basic 'housekeeping' functions and are nearly always active at low levels require only a basic set of regulatory controls; whereas those that that are activated by environmental signals, known as inducible genes, have a more specialized architecture. This finding in yeast could open the door to a better understanding of the regulatory architecture of the human genome.