Epigenetics drives RAGs to recombination riches.
V(D)J recombination of antigen receptor gene segments in B and T cells is mediated by the lymphoid-specific proteins RAG1 and RAG2. Now, Ji et al. (2010) demonstrate how RAG1 and RAG2 use DNA sequence specificity and modified histones within chromatin to target specific loci for V(D)J recombination at different stages of lymphoid development.
Schlissel
Mark S
MS
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. mss@berkeley.edu