From the wings to the center stage of chromosomes

Telomere-binding protein TRF2 protects the linear chromosome ends, telomeres, from being recognized as damaged DNA. TRF2 also regulates gene expression outside telomeres, but the detailed mechanism has not been fully understood. Mukherjee and colleagues have employed ChIP-Seq and biochemical analyses to identify G-quadruplexes at gene promoters across the genome as nontelomeric TRF2-binding sites. TRF2 occupancy on such target sites leads to epigenetic gene repression, implicating TRF2?G-quadruplex interaction as a sophisticated regulator of gene expression.