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The finely tuned regulation of transcription involves protein transcription factors that bind to DNA at specific sequences, as well as epigenetic modifications that mark DNA or the histone proteins with which it is packaged into chromatin.
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Research
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The finely tuned regulation of transcription involves protein transcription factors that bind to DNA at specific sequences, as well as epigenetic modifications that mark DNA or the histone proteins with which it is packaged into chromatin.
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Biochemical experiments can map epigenetic marks, identify binding sites for transcription factors, and reveal long-range DNA interactions. But we are still unable to answer fundamental questions about transcription and its regulation: What is the structure of chromatin beyond the nucleosome and how dynamic is it? What is the physical nature of enhancer-promoter communication? How does it relate to timing and robustness in gene expression in development?

The Transcription Imaging Consortium brought together researchers with complementary expertise to develop new tools and use them to address these questions. Using cutting-edge microscopes, labeling reagents, and innovative experimental approaches and analysis of single cells, we aimed to decipher the regulation of eukaryotic transcription. 

The TIC offered opportunities for scientists to develop skills and knowledge outside their own field and to share tools and results prior to publication. This approach enabled advances that would be impossible for individual labs working independently.

We actively shared our output with the broader scientific community. A MultiFocus Microscope and single-molecule TIRF microscope built by the TIC are available to the broader scientific community through Janelia's Advanced Imaging Center (AIC).

Our efforts focused on four areas:

  • Instrumentation Technology Development
  • Integrate Technologies to Image Multiple Stages of the Transcription Cycle
  • Image the Interplay between Chromatin Architecture, Dynamics and Transcription Regulation
  • Quantify Transcription Regulation across Tissue