Change Management

It takes a perfectly choreographed sequence of impossibly complex steps to develop from a single cell to a full person. Each step is driven by the precisely timed activity of specific genes. Enhancers are other stretches of DNA that guide this process, like stagehands ushering in performers on cue. In the fruit fly, one gene essential for development, called Hunchback, relies on its enhancer, P2, which in turn interacts with a backstage protein called Bicoid. But how the gradual accumulation of Bicoid (green in the fruit fly embryo pictured, with Hunchback in red) gives a sudden cue for Hunchback to take the stage is unclear. Researchers found that P2 interacts not just with Bicoid, but with a much wider range of molecules than previously thought before passing the prompt to Hunchback. Changes to enhancers can cause diseases like cancer, so understanding how they function might help us take control when things go wrong.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image from work by Jeehae Park and colleagues
• Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, June 2019