A spectrum of gene regulatory phenomena at mammalian β-globin gene lociThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled 30th Annual International Asilomar Chromatin and Chromosomes Conference, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.

Abstract

The β-globin gene cluster in mammals, consisting of a set of erythroid-specific, developmentally activated, and (or) silenced genes, has long presented a model system for the investigation of gene regulation. As the number and complexity of models of gene activation and repression have expanded, so too has the complexity of phenomena associated with the regulation of the β-globin genes. Models for expression from within the locus must account for local (promoter-proximal), distal (enhancer-mediated), and domain-wide components of the regulatory pathways that proceed through mammalian development and erythroid differentiation. In this review, we provide an overview of transcriptional activation, silencing, chromatin structure, and the function of distal regulatory elements involved in the normal developmental regulation of β-globin gene expression.