HP1 and the dynamics of heterochromatin maintenance

Heterochromatin maintenance is crucial for the clonal inheritance of cell identity, to ensure the proper segregation of chromosomes and the regulation of gene expression. Although it is architecturally stable, heterochromatin has to be flexible to cope with disrupting events such as replication. Recent progress has shed light on the paradoxical properties of heterochromatin in the nucleus, and highlights the roles of heterochromatin protein-1 and, more unexpectedly, RNA molecules in heterochromatin maintenance.