maintenance of DNA methylation states (ATRX). It thus appears that there is a broad range of nontranscriptional functions of chromatin remodeling proteins (Figure 1). In addition, the recent sequencing of eukaryotic genomes has led to the identification of many novel SWI2/ Dmitry V. Fyodorov and James T. Kadonaga1,2 Section of Molecular Biology University of California, San Diego La Jolla, Cali...

Gene activation in eukaryotes involves the concerted action of histone tail modifiers, chromatin remodelers, and transcription factors, whose precise coordination is currently unknown. We demonstrate that the experimentally observed interactions of the molecules are in accord with a kinetic proofreading scheme. Our finding could provide a basis for the development of quantitative models for gen...

Chromatin remodeling complexes play critical roles in development. Here we describe a transcription factor, CECR2, which is involved in neurulation and chromatin remodeling. CECR2 shows complex alternative splicing, but all variants contain DDT and bromodomain motifs. A mutant mouse line was generated from an embryonic stem cell line containing a genetrap within Cecr2. Reporter gene expression ...

Rad54, a member of the Swi2/Snf2 protein family, works in concert with the RecA-like recombinase Rad51 during the early and late stages of homologous recombination. Rad51 markedly enhances the activities of Rad54, including the induction of topological changes in DNA and the remodeling of chromatin structure. Reciprocally, Rad54 promotes Rad51-mediated DNA strand invasion with either naked or c...

During the past year, major advances have been made towards understanding the function of ATP-dependent chromatin-remodelling activities both in vitro and in vivo. These suggest that ATP-dependent chromatin-remodelling activities are capable of both altering the structure of individual nucleosomes and acting in concert with other forms of chromatin-modifying enzymes, to regulate the formation a...

Acknowledgements First, I want to thank Professor Wolfram Hörz for giving me the opportunity to work his laboratory. During the first years of my work he was a constant source of inspiration. I will remember him not only as a scientific mentor but as a warm and affectionate person who truly cared for his students. I want to thank Philipp Korber for his constant advice and also for his support d...

Single-molecule experiments show that the chromatin-remodeling complex RSC, a member of the SNF2 ATPase family, induces formation of a negatively supercoiled DNA loop by active translocation.

Novel discoveries result from genetic analyses of transcription and chromatin remodeling because these methods identify activities in an unbiased manner. By describing our genetic approaches to identify regulators of PHO5 transcription and chromatin remodeling, we hope to encourage others to apply similar strategies to their genes of interest.

Cell proliferation and differentiation are guided by changes in gene expression and require the coordinated efforts of the transcription machinery and chromatin-remodeling factors. However, aberrant regulation of chromatin structure can arise through mutations in chromatin-modifying and -remodeling proteins and can lead to improper gene expression and cancer. This review discusses how mutations...