title: Polycomb-mediated gene silencing in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are conserved chromatin regulators involved in the control of key developmental programs in eukaryotes. They collectively provide the transcriptional memory unique to each cell identity by maintaining transcriptional states of developmental genes. PcG proteins form multi-protein complexes, known as Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). PRC1 and PRC2 contribute to the stable gene silencing in part through catalyzing covalent histone modifications. Components of PRC1 and PRC2 are well conserved from plants to animals. PcG-mediated gene silencing has been extensively investigated in efforts to understand molecular mechanisms underlying developmental programs in eukaryotes. Here, we describe our current knowledge on PcG-mediated gene repression which dictates developmental programs by dynamic layers of regulatory activities, with an emphasis given to the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Dong-Hwan
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Sibum
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D063151:Polycomb Repressive Complex 2; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006657:Histones; C574170:PRC2 protein, Arabidopsis; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D063151:Polycomb Repressive Complex 2; D005964:Glucosyltransferases; C457769:PRC1 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: chromatin looping; epigenetics; gene silencing; polycomb; trithorax