The mammalian globin gene clusters provide a paradigm for studying the relationship between genome structure and function. As blood stem cells undergo lineage specification and differentiation to form red blood cells, the chromatin structure and expression of the α-globin cluster change. The gradual activation of the α-globin genes in well-defined cell populations has enabled investigation of the structural and functional roles of its enhancers, promoters and boundary elements. Recent studies of gene regulatory processes involving these elements at the mouse α-globin cluster have brought new insights into the general principles underlying the three-dimensional structure of the genome and its relationship to gene expression throughout time.

哺乳动物珠蛋白基因簇为研究基因组结构和功能之间的关系提供了范例。当血液干细胞经历谱系特化和分化形成红细胞时，染色质结构和 α-珠蛋白簇的表达发生变化。α-珠蛋白基因在明确的细胞群中的逐渐激活使得能够研究其增强子、启动子和边界元件的结构和功能作用。最近对小鼠 α-珠蛋白簇中涉及这些元件的基因调控过程的研究为了解基因组三维结构的一般原理及其随时间变化与基因表达的关系带来了新的见解。