Live-cell imaging reveals enhancer-dependent <i>Sox2</i> transcription in the absence of enhancer proximity.

ABSTRACT: Enhancers are important regulatory elements that can control gene activity across vast genetic distances. However, the underlying nature of this regulation remains obscured because it has been difficult to observe in living cells. Here, we visualize the spatial organization and transcriptional output of the key pluripotency regulator Sox2 and its essential enhancer Sox2 Control Region (SCR) in living embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We find that Sox2 and SCR show no evidence of enhanced spatial proximity and that spatial dynamics of this pair is limited over tens of minutes. Sox2 transcription occurs in short, intermittent bursts in ESCs and, intriguingly, we find this activity demonstrates no association with enhancer proximity, suggesting that direct enhancer-prom

SUBMITTER: Alexander JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6534382 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature