Chromatin boundaries facilitate independent gene regulation by insulating genes from the effects of enhancers or organized chromatin. However, the mechanisms of boundary action are not well understood. To investigate whether boundary function depends on a higher order of chromatin organization, we examined the function of several Drosophila melanogaster insulators in cells with reduced chromati...

Expression of the PHO8 and PHO5 genes that encode a nonspecific alkaline and acid phosphatase, respectively, is regulated in response to the P(i) concentration in the medium by the same transcription factors. Upon induction by phosphate starvation, both promoters undergo characteristic chromatin remodeling, yet the extent of remodeling at the PHO8 promoter is significantly lower than at PHO5. D...

Although yeast PHO5 promoter chromatin opening is a founding model for chromatin remodeling, the complete set of involved remodelers remained unknown for a long time. The SWI/SNF and INO80 remodelers cooperate here, but nonessentially, and none of the many tested single or combined remodeler gene mutations could prevent PHO5 promoter opening. RSC, the most abundant and only remodeler essential ...