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The "Fourth Dimension" of Gene Transcription

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Bert W. O'Malley, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030. E-mail: berto{at}bcm.tmc.edu.

ABSTRACT

The three dimensions of space provide our relationship to position on the earth, but the fourth dimension of time has an equally profound influence on our lives. Everything from light and sound to weather and biology operate on the principle of measurable temporal periodicity. Consequently, a wide variety of time clocks affect all aspects of our existence. The annual (and biannual) cycles of activity, metabolism, and mating, the monthly physiological clocks of women and men, and the 24-h diurnal rhythms of humans are prime examples. Should it be surprising to us that the fourth dimension also impinges upon gene expression and that the genome itself is regulated by the fastest running of all biological clocks? Recent evidence substantiates the existence of such a ubiquitin-dependent transcriptional clock that is based upon the activation and destruction of transcriptional coactivators.