The organization of chromosomes into euchromatin and heterochromatin is amongst the most important and enigmatic aspects of genome evolution. Constitutive heterochromatin is a basic yet still poorly understood component of eukaryotic chromosomes, and its molecular characterization by means of standard genomic approaches is intrinsically difficult. Although recent evidence indicates that the presence of transcribed genes in constitutive heterochromatin is a conserved trait that accompanies the evolution of eukaryotic genomes, the term heterochromatin is still considered by many as synonymous of gene silencing. In this paper, we comprehensively review data that provide a clearer picture of transcribed sequences within constitutive heterochromatin, with a special emphasis on Drosophila and humans.
Constitutive heterochromatin: a surprising variety of expressed sequences / Dimitri, Patrizio; Ruggiero, Caizzi; Ennio, Giordano; M. C., Accardo; Giovanna, Lattanzi; Giuseppe, Biamonti. - In: CHROMOSOMA. - ISSN 0009-5915. - 118:4(2009), pp. 419-435. [10.1007/s00412-009-0211-y]
Constitutive heterochromatin: a surprising variety of expressed sequences
DIMITRI, Patrizio;
2009
Abstract
The organization of chromosomes into euchromatin and heterochromatin is amongst the most important and enigmatic aspects of genome evolution. Constitutive heterochromatin is a basic yet still poorly understood component of eukaryotic chromosomes, and its molecular characterization by means of standard genomic approaches is intrinsically difficult. Although recent evidence indicates that the presence of transcribed genes in constitutive heterochromatin is a conserved trait that accompanies the evolution of eukaryotic genomes, the term heterochromatin is still considered by many as synonymous of gene silencing. In this paper, we comprehensively review data that provide a clearer picture of transcribed sequences within constitutive heterochromatin, with a special emphasis on Drosophila and humans.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
