Journal article
The role of UBF in regulating the structure and dynamics of transcriptionally active rDNA chromatin
E Sanij, RD Hannan
Epigenetics | Published : 2009
DOI: 10.4161/epi.4.6.9449
Abstract
Somatic cells have ∼200 hundred copies of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes (rDNA) per haploid genome of which only a fraction are transcribed by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) at any given time. Thus regulation of rDNA transcription involves controlling both the number of active genes as well as the rate of transcription per gene. How and why a majority of rDNA are silenced is unclear but recent studies indicate that in addition to controlling rRNA synthesis, rDNA silencing plays an essential role in maintaining the genetic stability of rDNA repeats and influences cellular events such as aging and senescence. in this review we discuss the role of the cytoarchitectural transcription factor UBF in determi..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This article has attempted to summarize our current understanding of the role UBF plays in maintaining the euchromatic state of rRNA genes and their regulation in differentiation. For this reason and because of space constraints, many important studies had to be omitted and we wish to apologise to those whose work has apparently been overlooked. We thank Tom Moss for communication of unpublished data. R. Hannan is supported by grants and a Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.