How bookmarking genes pre-cell division hastens their subsequent reactivation
Sunday, October 9, 2011 - 12:00
in Biology & Nature
In order for cells of different types to maintain their identities even after repeated rounds of cell division, each cell must "remember" which genes were active before division and pass along that memory to its daughter cells. Cells deal with this challenge by deploying a "bookmarking" process. In the same way a sticky note marks the last-read page in a book, certain molecules tag the active genes in a cell so that, after it divides, the same genes are reactivated right away in the new cells.
