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Nature Reviews Genetics
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Enhancers: five essential questions

Nature Reviews Geneticsvolume 14, pages288–295 (2013)Cite this article

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It is estimated that the human genome contains hundreds of thousands of enhancers, so understanding these gene-regulatory elements is a crucial goal. Several fundamental questions need to be addressed about enhancers, such as how do we identify them all, how do they work, and how do they contribute to disease and evolution? Five prominent researchers in this field look at how much we know already and what needs to be done to answer these questions.

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Acknowledgements

L.A.P. was supported by US National Human Genome Research Institute grants R01HG003988 and U54HG006997. Research was conducted at the E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and carried out under US Department of Energy Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, University of California. A.D. acknowledges support for research in her laboratory by the Intramural Program of the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). M.A.N. is currently supported by the US National Institutes of Health, grants R01DK093972 and R01HL114010. G.B. thanks members of his laboratory, past and present, for their wisdom and company.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Len A. Pennacchio is at the Genomics Division, One Cyclotron Road, MS 84–171, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.,

    Len A. Pennacchio

  2. Wendy Bickmore is at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, IGMM, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.,

    Wendy Bickmore

  3. Ann Dean is at the Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 50 South Drive, MSC 8028, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.,

    Ann Dean

  4. Marcelo A. Nobrega is at the Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.,

    Marcelo A. Nobrega

  5. Gill Bejerano is in Developmental Biology and Computer Science, Stanford University, Beckman Center B-300, 279 Campus Drive West (MC 5329), Stanford, California 94305–5329, USA.,

    Gill Bejerano

Authors
  1. Len A. Pennacchio
  2. Wendy Bickmore
  3. Ann Dean
  4. Marcelo A. Nobrega
  5. Gill Bejerano

Corresponding authors

Correspondence toLen A. Pennacchio,Wendy Bickmore,Ann Dean,Marcelo A. Nobrega orGill Bejerano.

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