Inactivation of one of the two female X chromosomes involves condensing it into a repressive subnuclear territory, which is depleted of transcriptional components and undergoes late-stage DNA replication. Two new studies unravel how compartmentalization of the inactive mammalian X chromosome affects transcription and DNA replication.
- Frederic Zimmer
- M. Felicia Basilicata
- Claudia Isabelle Keller Valsecchi