Enhancer-promoter communication is important for the expression of developmentally regulated genes. But how is this communication achieved when an enhancer lies far from its target promoter? Vanolst and co-workers now report that such long-range communication might be achieved through chromatin remodelling, at least during Drosophila neural development (see p. 4327). During this process, enhancer-promoter communication is facilitated by the formation of a multiprotein complex in which Pannier (Pnr), bound to a remote enhancer of the achaete-scute (ac-sc) complex, is linked to an(Ac-Sc)-Daughterless heterodimer that is bound to ac-sc promoters through the protein Chip. The researchers show that Toutatis, a protein containing domains found in chromatin remodelling proteins, and Iswi, a chromatin remodelling factor, positively regulate the activity of Pnr and Chip. Since the Brahma chromatin remodelling complex negatively regulates Pnr/Chip activity, these new results suggest that chromatin remodelling may be a general mechanism by which enhancer-promoter communication is facilitated during Drosophila neural development.

©2005.
2005