歐洲分子生物學實驗所位於德國漢堡的表觀基因研究項目組和發育生物學項目組的科學家以果蠅為研究模型，揭示複雜的Polycomb Group Protein Complexes對細胞形成和細胞分裂模式的動力控制機制。相關文章發表在11月6日Cell子刊Development Cell在線版上。
Polycomb Group（PcG ）蛋白形成保守的調控複合物，對染色質的表達轉錄具有修飾作用。研究小組從整個基因組範圍以及相關的結合蛋白PhoRC研究果蠅的PcG蛋白複合物，包括其中的DNA結合因子Pho/dYY1和dSfmbt。在果蠅胚胎與幼蟲發育階段，PhoRC構成短調節基因表達的Polycomb效應元素（short Polycomb response elements,PREs）。
PREs與PcG複合物PRC1和PRC2共同出現。對PcG突變體研究發現，PcG系統表達基因在幼蟲發育的前端、背腹以及遠端模式都是必須的，同時可抑制細胞分裂調節基因的活性。大量的基因群以動態的調節模式工作，研究小組的研究結果表明，PcG系統限制部分細胞的信號介導的靶基因活性。對細胞分裂調節研究發現，PcG系統在某些基因表達的模式上是以動態的形式進行的，這為研究腫瘤的PcG突變表型具有重要的意義。(生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Developmental Cell, 06 November 2008 doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2008.10.005
Dynamic Regulation by Polycomb Group Protein Complexes Controls Pattern Formation and the Cell Cycle in Drosophila
Katarzyna Oktaba1, 3, Luis Gutiérrez1, 3, Julien Gagneur2, Charles Girardot2, Aditya K. Sengupta1, Eileen E.M. Furlong2 and Jürg Müller1, ,
1 EMBL, Gene Expression Programme, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
2 EMBL, Developmental Biology Programme, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
3 These authors contributed equally to this work
Polycomb group (PcG) proteins form conserved regulatory complexes that modify chromatin to repress transcription. Here, we report genome-wide binding profiles of PhoRC, the Drosophila PcG protein complex containing the DNA-binding factor Pho/dYY1 and dSfmbt. PhoRC constitutively occupies short Polycomb response elements (PREs) of a large set of developmental regulator genes in both embryos and larvae. The majority of these PREs are co-occupied by the PcG complexes PRC1 and PRC2. Analysis of PcG mutants shows that the PcG system represses genes required for anteroposterior, dorsoventral, and proximodistal patterning of imaginal discs and that it also represses cell cycle regulator genes. Many of these genes are regulated in a dynamic manner, and our results suggest that the PcG system restricts signaling-mediated activation of target genes to appropriate cells. Analysis of cell cycle regulators indicates that the PcG system also dynamically modulates the expression levels of certain genes, providing a possible explanation for the tumor phenotype of PcG mutants.