Sorting DNA with asymmetry: a new player in gene regulation?

Abstract

In recent years, our views on how DNA and genes are organised and regulated have evolved significantly. One example is provided by reports that single DNA strands in the double helix could carry distinct forms of information. That chromatids carrying old and nascently replicated DNA strands are recognised by the mitotic machinery, then segregated in a concerted way to distinct daughter cells after cell division is remarkable. Notably, this phenomenon in several cases has been associated with the cell fate choice of resulting daughter cells. Here, we review the evidence for asymmetric or template DNA strand segregation in mammals with a focus on skeletal muscle.