Three-dimensional regulation of transcription

Cells can adapt to environment and development by reconstructing their transcriptional networks to regulate diverse cellular processes without altering the underlying DNA sequences. These alterations, namely epigenetic changes, occur during cell division, differentiation and cell death. Numerous evidences demonstrate that epigenetic changes are governed by various types of determinants, including DNA methylation patterns, histone posttranslational modification signatures, histone variants, chromatin remodeling, and recently discovered chromosome conformation characteristics and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). Here, we highlight recent efforts on how the two latter epigenetic factors participate in the sophisticated transcriptional process and describe emerging techniques which permit us to uncover and gain insights into the fascinating genomic regulation.