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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Mar 27.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Genet. 2015 Jan 2;16(2):71–84. doi: 10.1038/nrg3863

Figure 4. RNAs, both short and long, represent an alternative to DNA-binding proteins as specificity determinants for epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

Figure 4

Enzymes (E) that catalyse methylation of histone tails or cytosine bases in DNA are recruited to chromatin by distinct mechanisms. a | Sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins recruit histone- or DNA-modifying enzymes to chromatin. b | Small RNAs target an Argonaute (AGO) or PIWI protein to a nascent transcript through base-pairing interactions to recruit modifying enzymes. c | Long RNAs act as scaffolds for RNA-binding proteins to recruit chromatin-modifying complexes. In all cases, the binding of the enzyme or the recruiting factors (for example, AGO–PIWI complexes in part b and RNA-binding protein complexes in part c) to chromatin may be enhanced by interactions with pre-existing modifications, which self-reinforce the epigenetic state. Pol II, RNA polymerase II.