Arabidopsis thaliana mutants for the MAIL family proteins MAIL1 and MAIN show widespread gene misregulation, but their molecular function is unknown. A genetic screen and genome-wide approaches now reveal that MAIL family proteins containing a plant mobile domain bind specific DNA motifs to prevent Polycomb-mediated deposition of repressive H3K27me3 at target genes, thus safeguarding their expression.
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References
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This is a summary of: Pélissier, T. et al. Plant mobile domain protein–DNA motif modules counteract Polycomb silencing to stabilize gene expression. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02127-1 (2025).
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MAIL proteins prevent Polycomb silencing to keep genes active. Nat. Plants 11, 2196–2197 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02132-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02132-4
