Polycomb Group Proteins Set the Stage for Early Lineage Commitment

Precise control of gene expression patterns is critical for the specification of cellular diversity during metazoan development. Polycomb group (PcG) proteins comprise a class of transcriptional modifiers that have dynamic and essential roles in regulating a number of key processes including lineage...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Surface, Lauren Elizabeth, Thornton, Seraphim R., Boyer, Laurie Ann
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Elsevier B.V. 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/84679
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7099-1127
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3491-4962
Description
Summary:Precise control of gene expression patterns is critical for the specification of cellular diversity during metazoan development. Polycomb group (PcG) proteins comprise a class of transcriptional modifiers that have dynamic and essential roles in regulating a number of key processes including lineage commitment. How this is accomplished during mammalian development is incompletely understood. Here, we discuss recent studies in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that provide critical new insights into how PcG proteins may be targeted to genomic sites as well as the mechanisms by which these regulators influence gene expression and multilineage differentiation in mammals.