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Review
. 2020 Feb 3;147(3):dev171736.
doi: 10.1242/dev.171736.

The regulatory landscapes of developmental genes

Christopher Chase Bolt  1 , Denis Duboule  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

The regulatory landscapes of developmental genes

Christopher Chase Bolt et al. Development. .

Abstract

Regulatory landscapes have been defined in vertebrates as large DNA segments containing diverse enhancer sequences that produce coherent gene transcription. These genomic platforms integrate multiple cellular signals and hence can trigger pleiotropic expression of developmental genes. Identifying and evaluating how these chromatin regions operate may be difficult as the underlying regulatory mechanisms can be as unique as the genes they control. In this brief article and accompanying poster, we discuss some of the ways in which regulatory landscapes operate, illustrating these mechanisms using genes important for vertebrate development as examples. We also highlight some of the techniques available to researchers for analysing regulatory landscapes.

Keywords: Enhancer-promoter interactions; Gene regulation; Neo-functionalization; Pleiotropy; Regulatory landscape; Topologically associating domains.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests.

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