A Model for all Genomes: The Role of Transcription Factories Review Article

A model for all genomes involving one major architectural motif is presented: DNA or chromatin loops are tethered to “factories” through the transcription machinery—a polymerase (active or inactive) or its transcription factors (activators or repressors). These loops appear and disappear as polymerases initiate and terminate (and as factors bind and dissociate), so the structure is ever-changing and self-organizing. This model is parsimonious, detailed (and so easily tested), and incorporates elements found in various other models.