Shelagh Boyle

Loop extrusion dynamics and cooperative activation independently regulate enhancer-driven transcription

The paper shows that loop extrusion and enhancer cooperativity independently affect enhancer-driven transcription through synthetic gene activation experiments.

DICER1 syndrome mutations lead to a gain of 3p-miRNA function, HERVH activity and increased metastatic potential

This study shows that DICER1 mutations lead to increased 3p-miRNA activity, HERVH activation, and metastatic potential without causing genomic instability.

Chromosome Ageing Occurs at the Primordial Follicle Stage in both Mouse and Human Oocytes

The paper shows that chromosome ageing, marked by increased chromatid separation and cohesin depletion, occurs in primordial follicles in both mouse and human oocytes.

Embryonic stem cells do not have a globally disrupted higher-order chromatin fibre structure

This study shows that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have a chromatin structure similar to differentiated cells, challenging the idea that their pluripotency is driven by a globally open chromatin conformation.

Transcription decouples estrogen-dependent changes in enhancer-promoter contact frequencies and spatial proximity

The paper investigates how estrogen receptor activation affects enhancer-promoter contact frequencies and spatial proximity, finding they change independently during gene activation.

Ultra-long-range interactions between active regulatory elements

The paper identifies ultra-long-range chromatin interactions between active regulatory elements in vertebrate and invertebrate genomes, showing they are driven by three distinct mechanisms independent of RNA polymerase II and some cofactors.

Dispersal of PRC1 condensates disrupts polycomb chromatin domains and loops

The paper shows that disrupting PRC1 condensates with 1,6-hexandiol reversibly disrupts polycomb chromatin domains and loops in mouse embryonic stem cells.

Oncogene expression from extrachromosomal DNA is driven by copy number amplification and does not require spatial clustering

The paper investigates oncogene expression from extrachromosomal DNA in glioblastoma and finds that copy number amplification, not spatial clustering, drives high transcriptional output.

Low level of expression of C-terminally truncated human FUS causes extensive changes in spinal cord transcriptome of asymptomatic transgenic mice

The paper shows that low-level expression of a pathogenic C-terminally truncated FUS in mice causes transcriptome changes in the spinal cord without motor neuron pathology.

Tex19.1 Regulates Acetylated SMC3 Cohesin and Prevents Aneuploidy in Mouse Oocytes

This study shows Tex19.1 maintains acetylated SMC3 and sister chromatid cohesion in mouse oocytes, preventing aneuploidy.

A Central Role for Canonical PRC1 in Shaping the 3D Nuclear Landscape

This study investigates the role of PRC1 in shaping 3D nuclear organization in mESCs, showing that PRC1-mediated interactions are independent of CTCF and can occur at a megabase scale.

Polymer Simulations of Heteromorphic Chromatin Predict the 3-D Folding of Complex Genomic Loci

The paper develops a polymer model to predict 3-D chromatin folding using epigenetic and structural data, validated on gene loci across cell types.

PARP mediated chromatin unfolding is coupled to long-range enhancer activation

The paper identifies PARP1-mediated chromatin unfolding as a mechanism for long-range enhancer activation at the Shh locus in neural progenitor cells.

Expression of progerin does not result in an increased mutation rate.

This study uses a mutation reporter cell line to compare mutation rates in cells expressing wild-type lamin A or progerin, finding no increased mutation rate in progerin-expressing cells.