Cis-regulatory strategies in developmental patterning

Cell fate choice during development generates the large cell type diversity required to build the complex tissues and organs in our bodies. These cell fate decisions involve the cell-type-specific regulation of gene expression. At the chromatin level, this differential gene expression can be achieved by distinct strategies, which either involve changes in accessibility or solely differential transcription factor binding. In this review, we summarize these two strategies and their use during spatial and temporal patterning. We describe how the generation of cell type diversity in tissues can involve the integration of both strategies and discuss the implications for cell fate choice associated with each.