Getting under the skin of Polycomb-dependent gene regulation

The Polycomb repressive system functions through chromatin to regulate gene expression and development. In this issue of Genes & Development, Cohen and colleagues (pp. 354-366) use the developing mouse epidermis as a model system to show that the two central Polycomb repressive complexes, PRC1 and PRC2, have autonomous yet overlapping functions in repressing Polycomb target genes. They show that this cooperation enables the stable repression of nonepidermal transcription factors that would otherwise compromise epidermal cell identity and disrupt normal skin development.

Automated summary

The Polycomb repressive system regulates gene expression and development through chromatin. The study by Cohen and colleagues in Genes & Development demonstrates that cooperation between PRC1 and PRC2 enables stable repression of non-epidermal transcription factors, preventing compromise of epidermal cell identity and disruption of normal skin development.