In this issue, Sano et al (2001) describe a cluster of three genes in the mouse t complex that exhibit random monoallelic expression, representing a new example of somatic mosaicism. These findings are fascinating from several perspectives, raising questions that make for entertaining speculation by casual and dedicated observers of the epigenetics field. What is the biological reason for monoallelic expression? What is the mechanism? Is it just stochastic or is it a critical mode of transcriptional regulation? Do monoallelically-expressed genes occur primarily in clusters?
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John C. Schimenti (2001) studied this question.
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