Mechanisms of transcription control by distal enhancers from single-gene nanoscopy

High-resolution real-time imaging of enhancer-promoter communication reveals how the two genomic loci are actively brought together through cohesin-mediated loop extrusion and how E-P interactions are temporally coordinated with transcriptional bursts. Unexpectedly, components of the RNA Pol II general machinery form nanoscale clusters at distal enhancers, and embedding the promoter into such clusters boosts GTF activities and triggers burst initiation.