Original title: Enhancer-promoter proximity predicts transcriptional competence but not transcriptional output in the Drosophila brain
Olivier Messina, Loucif Remini, Christopher H. Bohrer, Jean-Bernard Fiche +3 · September 2026
Cells need to control which genes they turn on, but how DNA's physical folding helps different brain cells do this is unclear. Researchers looked at the brain cells of adult fruit flies. They tracked the 3D shape of DNA and cell identity in single cells. Specifically, they looked at physical distance between enhancers, which are regulatory DNA switches, and promoters, which are gene start sites. They found that active neurons had enhancers and promoters closer together than inactive neurons did. Single-cell views showed two states: close and far. Active neurons were mostly in the close state. Yet, among active cell types, being closer did not predict how much a gene was used. Getting close simply makes a gene ready to work.
Imagine you're preparing for a hike with your gear spread across a room. If your backpack and keys are right by the door, you're ready to leave—proximity makes it likely you'll start the hike. But how fast or far you go depends on your fitness and trail conditions, not just having things nearby. In this paper, enhancer-promoter proximity is like having gear ready—it lets neurons begin transcribing genes—but the actual output is controlled by other cell-specific factors.
This research helps explain how gene activity is controlled in brain cells, which is key for understanding neuron function and disorders like neurodegenerative diseases. It shows that genome structure sets basic conditions, but finer controls determine actual output.
The study is limited to adult Drosophila brains, so findings may not apply to other species or developmental stages. It focuses on neuronal cell types, and non-neuronal cells are not discussed. The methods, like multiplexed chromatin tracing, capture proximity but may not reveal all regulatory nuances.
Ask anything about this paper. Answers come from its abstract, and say so when the abstract doesn't cover your question.
Enhancer-promoter proximity predicts transcriptional competence but not transcriptional output in the Drosophila brain — Olivier Messina, Loucif Remini, Christopher H. Bohrer et al.
Abstract licence: CC0
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.