Genetic switches could hold clues to a cell`s developmental history

A new study has revealed that genetic switches (or enhancers) and the molecules that activate these switches (transcription factors) can be used to trace a cell's development history.

Scientists in the groups of Eileen Furlong at EMBL and Ewan Birney at EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), looked at fruit fly embryos to find that enhancers in heart muscle cells are not alone in having transcription factors attached. Enhancers in the gut muscle were also occupied by transcription factors in heart cells.

Furlong commented: "Although it may seem counter-intuitive to leave unnecessary genetic switches available for activation and then have to actively suppress them, the findings make sense in developmental terms."

This holds potential for scientists to identify the relationship between cells by looking at shared occupied enhancers.

The transcription factors were found to be able to attach themselves to enhancers in groups. Some connected directly to the enhancer's DNA, whereas others connected to the enhancer-bound transcription factors. This is of significance because it shows that the genetic sequence of these enhancers can vary greatly, yet they are occupied as a united group.

This flexibility in the enhancer's genetic sequence therefore gives it some evolutionary flexibility.

Posted by Ben Evans