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Catherine André, Judith Fischer and colleagues report that mutations in PNPLA1 cause congenital ichthyosis in humans and golden retriever dogs. Their findings suggest a role for PNPLA1 in the formation of the epidermal lipid barrier.
Eileen Furlong and colleagues report the development and application of BiTS-ChIP (batch isolate tissue specific chromatin immunoprecipitation), in which a tagged nuclear protein is expressed in developing cells of interest. They apply this method to investigate six chromatin markers and RNA Pol II occupancy in mesodermal cells in developing Drosophila embryos and find that histone modifications and Pol II occupancy can predict enhancer activity.
Andy Fire and colleagues report the finding of histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation footprints extending several kilobases from siRNA targets at specific loci across the C. elegans genome. Such exogenous RNA–induced chromatin modification was mediated by secondary amplification of siRNA and was maintained across two or more generations.