title: Quantitative imaging of mammalian transcriptional dynamics: from single cells to whole embryos.
abstract: Probing dynamic processes occurring within the cell nucleus at the quantitative level has long been a challenge in mammalian biology. Advances in bio-imaging techniques over the past decade have enabled us to directly visualize nuclear processes in situ with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution and single-molecule sensitivity. Here, using transcription as our primary focus, we survey recent imaging studies that specifically emphasize the quantitative understanding of nuclear dynamics in both time and space. These analyses not only inform on previously hidden physical parameters and mechanistic details, but also reveal a hierarchical organizational landscape for coordinating a wide range of transcriptional processes shared by mammalian systems of varying complexity, from single cells to whole embryos.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore, 138673, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ziqing W
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore, 138673, Singapore.
authors.forename: Melanie D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore, 138673, Singapore.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bissiere
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Conicet, Buenos Aires, C1428EHA, Argentina.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore, 138673, Singapore. plachtan@imcb.a-star.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Plachta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008322:Mammals / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D015533:Transcriptional Activation