Since the hydrogen donor (N, O, or F) is strongly electronegative, it pulls the covalently bonded electron pair closer to its nucleus, and away from the hydrogen atom.

The hydrogen atom is then left with a partial positive charge, creating a dipole-dipole attraction between the hydrogen atom bonded to the donor and the lone electron pair of the acceptor. This results in a hydrogen bond.

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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes

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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes

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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes

Xic is a complex genetic locus that expresses several long noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). The most important of these is a gene called Xist (X  (X inactive specific transcript), which is stably expressed only on the inactive X chromosome.

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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes

The Xist transcript is regulated in a negative manner by Tsix, its antisense partner.

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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes

To modify DNA at a new position requires the action of a de novo methyltransferase, which recognizes DNA by virtue of a specific sequence. It acts only on unmethylated DNA to add a methyl group to one strand.

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#Unit 3. Fundamental Processes

There are two de novo methyltransferases (Dnmt3A and Dnmt3B) in the mouse; they have different target sites, and both are essential for development.