%0 Journal Article
%T R-Loops and Its Chro-Mates: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
%A Uruci S
%A Lo CSY
%A Wheeler D
%A Taneja N
%J Int J Mol Sci
%V 22
%N 16
%D Aug 2021 17
%M 34445553
%F 6.208
%R 10.3390/ijms22168850
%X Since their discovery, R-loops have been associated with both physiological and pathological functions that are conserved across species. R-loops are a source of replication stress and genome instability, as seen in neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. In response, cells have evolved pathways to prevent R-loop accumulation as well as to resolve them. A growing body of evidence correlates R-loop accumulation with changes in the epigenetic landscape. However, the role of chromatin modification and remodeling in R-loops homeostasis remains unclear. This review covers various mechanisms precluding R-loop accumulation and highlights the role of chromatin modifiers and remodelers in facilitating timely R-loop resolution. We also discuss the enigmatic role of RNA:DNA hybrids in facilitating DNA repair, epigenetic landscape and the potential role of replication fork preservation pathways, active fork stability and stalled fork protection pathways, in avoiding replication-transcription conflicts. Finally, we discuss the potential role of several Chro-Mates (chromatin modifiers and remodelers) in the likely differentiation between persistent/detrimental R-loops and transient/benign R-loops that assist in various physiological processes relevant for therapeutic interventions.