title: "Hit-and-Run" leaves its mark: catalyst transcription factors and chromatin modification.
abstract: Understanding how transcription factor (TF) binding is related to gene regulation is a moving target. We recently uncovered genome-wide evidence for a "Hit-and-Run" model of transcription. In this model, a master TF "hits" a target promoter to initiate a rapid response to a signal. As the "hit" is transient, the model invokes recruitment of partner TFs to sustain transcription over time. Following the "run", the master TF "hits" other targets to propagate the response genome-wide. As such, a TF may act as a "catalyst" to mount a broad and acute response in cells that first sense the signal, while the recruited TF partners promote long-term adaptive behavior in the whole organism. This "Hit-and-Run" model likely has broad relevance, as TF perturbation studies across eukaryotes show small overlaps between TF-regulated and TF-bound genes, implicating transient TF-target binding. Here, we explore this "Hit-and-Run" model to suggest molecular mechanisms and its biological relevance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kranthi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Varala
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marshall-Colón
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Para
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gloria M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Coruzzi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D017343:Genes, Plant; D006657:Histones / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D006657:Histones; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: TF binding; dynamic regulation; gene regulatory networks; transcriptional model; transcriptional regulation; “Hit-and-Run”