Decoding enhancer function: from the nucleosome to the nucleus

The complexity of vertebrates comes not from the number of genes in the genome but from the 100s of thousands, perhaps millions, of enhancers that regulate gene expression with exquisite precision in time and space. Identifying enhancers, the genes they regulate, and the biological context in which they operate remains a major challenge. Moreover, we still do not understand how enhancers communicate to their target genes, often over long genomic distances. I will discuss our efforts to drive progress in understanding when, where and how enhancers function in development using cellular and animal models, from the level of histone modifications through to the 3D structure of the genome in the nucleus.