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Chromatin Structure and Transcription

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Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology

Part of the book series: Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology ((NUCLEIC,volume 9))

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Abstract

Within the eukaryotic nucleus, DNA is progressively compacted through the assembly of nucleosomes, the organization of the nucleosomal array into the chromatin fiber, and finally the folding of the fiber into yet more complex structures. This compaction of DNA presents many impediments for transacting factors seeking access to the double helix. Many studies have sought insight into how this access might be achieved for proteins directing metabolic processes that require chromosomal DNA as a substrate. The interpretation of all of these experiments requires knowledge of chromatin structure. Significant progress was made during the late 1970s towards the definition of the nucleosome as the fundamental subunit of chromatin (van Holde 1989). More recently, recognition that histones can have highly selective interactions with DNA in the nucleosome, so that nucleosomes can be positioned with respect to DNA sequence, has considerably accelerated progress in the field (Simpson 1991). The availability of purified transcription factors and molecular genetic approaches to histone function have rapidly led to a new functional appreciation of the role of chromatin structure in transcriptional regulation (Wolffe 1994a, b).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Embryology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bldg. 6, Rm. B1A-13, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    J. J. Hayes & A. P. Wolffe

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  1. J. J. Hayes
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  2. A. P. Wolffe
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Experimentelle Medizin, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Fritz Eckstein

  2. Biochemistry Department, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, UK

    David M. J. Lilley

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Hayes, J.J., Wolffe, A.P. (1995). Chromatin Structure and Transcription. In: Eckstein, F., Lilley, D.M.J. (eds) Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology. Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology, vol 9. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79488-9_2

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