Hsp90 globally targets paused RNA polymerase to regulate gene expression in response to environmental stimuli.
Sawarkar R, Sievers C, Paro R.
Publication in Cell. 2012 May 11;149(4):807-18. PDF download

The group of Renato Paro at the D-BSSE, ETH Zürich in Basel, identified HSP90, the molecular chaperone heat-shock protein, to function as an essential regulator of genes in Drosophila and mammalian cells involved in a rapid response to environmental stimuli. The finding is of broad importance for understanding the processes of evolution and disease.



Polycomb function during oogenesis is required for mouse embryonic development.
Postfai et al.
Publication in Genes and Development. 2012, 26:920-932 PDF download

The group of Antoine Peters at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel demonstrated that two key components of the chromatin regulatory complex, called Polycomb Repressive Complex 1, specify the maternal contribution in oocytes that is required for the development of pre-implantation embryos. The work indicates that Polycomb group proteins act in the female germline to establish developmental competence by silencing differentiation-inducing genes and defining appropriate chromatin states.

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