Chromatin and Epigenetics

Chromatin structure and epigenetics.

In eukaryotic cells, the DNA molecule is found in the form of a nucleoprotein complex named chromatin. The basic unit of the chromatin is the nucleosome, which comprises 147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octamer of core histones (made of two molecules of each H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 histones). Each nucleosome is linked to the next by small segments of linker DNA. Most chromatin is further co...

Chromatin and Epigenetics

Wrapping DNA around protein beads, to form socalled nucleosomes, is an ingenious invention of nature allowing the condensation of an enormous amount of genomic information into a tiny package. The assembly of DNAwith histone proteins, the chromatin, increases genome stability, but it also hinders the access of enzymes needed to transcribe the encoded information. Bliss or burden, the chromatin ...

Topical Review on Epigenetics and Chromatin Modifications Epigenetics: Beyond Chromatin Modifications and Complex Genetic Regulation

Chromatin modifications and epigenetics may play important roles in many plant processes, including developmental regulation, responses to environmental stimuli, and local adaptation. Chromatin modifications describe biochemical changes to chromatin state, such as alterations in the specific type or placement of histones, modifications of DNA or histones, or changes in the specific proteins or ...

Introduction to theme "Chromatin, epigenetics, and transcription".

Transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes depends on a complex network of interactions between RNA polymerases and a host of transcription factors and coregulators that control their activity during transcription initiation and elongation. Among these are an enormous variety of enzymes and proteins that modulate chromatin structure via changes in DNA methylation, histone modifications, and nucle...

Chromatin and Gene Regulation Mechanisms in Epigenetics