2010年度中国科学十大进展

①拓扑绝缘体研究取得重要进展;②相对论重离子对撞机上发现首个反超核粒子——反超氚核;③揭示三氧化二砷和全反式维甲酸联合治疗急性早幼粒白血病的分子机制;④中国发现10万年前的早期现代人化石;     

Chromatin domain boundaries： insulators and beyond

The eukaryotic genome is organized into functionally and structurally distinct domains, representing regulatory units for gene expression and chromosome behavior. DNA sequences that mark the border between adjacent domains are the insulators or boundary elements, which are required in maintenance of the function of different domains. Some insulators need others enable to play insulation activity. Chromatin domains are defined by distinct sets of post-translationally modified histones. Recent studies show that these histone modifications are also involved in establishment of sharp chromatin boundaries in order to prevent the spreading of distinct domains. Additionally, in some loci, the high-order chromatin structures for long-range looping interactions also have boundary activities, suggesting a correlation between insulators and chromatin loop domains. In this review, we will discuss recent progress in the field of chromatin domain boundaries.