Translating the Histone Code
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Citations
DNA methylation patterns and epigenetic memory
Epigenetic regulation of gene expression: how the genome integrates intrinsic and environmental signals
The fundamental role of epigenetic events in cancer
A Bivalent Chromatin Structure Marks Key Developmental Genes in Embryonic Stem Cells
Epigenetics in Cancer
References
The language of covalent histone modifications.
Crystal structure of the nucleosome core particle at 2.8 Å resolution
Transcriptional silencing and longevity protein Sir2 is an NAD-dependent histone deacetylase
Methylation of histone H3 lysine 9 creates a binding site for HP1 proteins.
Selective recognition of methylated lysine 9 on histone H3 by the HP1 chromo domain.
Related Papers (5)
Frequently Asked Questions (18)
Q2. What is the role of RNA in plant development?
RNA silencing is a potent means to counteract foreign sequences and could play an important role in plant and animal development.
Q3. What is the hypothesis for the histone code?
The histone code hypothesis predicts that the modification marks on the histone tails should provide binding sites for effector proteins.
Q4. What is the way to remove methylation marks from histone tails?
In contrast to DNA methylation— where the methylated imprint can be removed by nucleotide excision followed by repair— DNA replication and semiconservative nucleosome distribution appears as the sole means to “dilute” histone lysine methylation below a critical threshold level.
Q5. What is the role of histones in the regulation of DNA?
Although histone proteins themselves come in generic or specialized forms (5), exquisite variation is provided by covalent modifications (acetylation, phosphorylation, methylation) of the histone tail domains, which allow regulatable contacts with the underlying DNA.
Q6. What is the function of the HMTase in the Su(var)3-9?
The HMTase function in the Su(var)3-9 family maps to the highly conserved SET domain but also requires adjacent Cys-rich regions.
Q7. How many bromodomains are found in humans?
Use of the Simple Modular Architectural Research Tool (SMART; http://smart.embl-heidelberg.de) indicates that there are ;75 bromodomain-containing proteins in humans.
Q8. What is the role of a ubiquitinating enzyme in the removal of histone?
Conserved lysines in the COOH-terminal tails of histones H2A and H2B are also subjected to monoubiquitination in a pathway that seems not to be tied tohistone turnover (78).
Q9. What is the role of eIF2C in PTGS/ RNAi?
Genes encoding members of the PAZ/Piwi family (Arabidopsis: AGO1; N. crassa: QDE2; C. elegans: RDE1), which are homologous to the translation factor eIF2C, have been shown to be required for PTGS/ RNAi in several mutant screens (3, 5, 8, 10).
Q10. What is the RNA that causes epigenetic silencing?
V The authorE W P O The authorN TIn diverse organisms, small RNAs derived from cleavage of double-stranded RNA can trigger epigenetic gene silencing in the cytoplasm and at the genome level.
Q11. What is the chromosome inactivation mechanism in mammals?
X chromosome inactivation in mammals correlates with hypoacetylation of histones, except for a few X-linked loci that escape this silencing mechanism (87).
Q12. What is the role of histones in the regulation of access to the underlying DNA?
the physiological template of all eukaryotic genetic information, is subject to a diverse array of posttranslational modifications that largely impinge on histone amino termini, thereby regulating access to the underlying DNA.
Q13. What is the chromodomain of the Su(var)3-9 HMTa?
Su(var)3-9 HMTase family members also contain a chromodomain, whose integrity is critical for silencing in vivo (33, 43).
Q14. What is the definition of RNA silencing?
RNA silencing is a new field of research that has coalesced during the last decade from independent studies on various organisms.
Q15. What is the possibility that the activities of several E(var) and trx-?
It therefore seems plausible that the activities of several E(var) and trx-G proteins may be facilitated by the recruitment to transcriptionally positive histone tail modifications and by subsequently antagonizing the establishment of negative marks.
Q16. What are the hints that could be found in other organisms?
Although the nuclear aspects of RNA silencing have been studied primarily in plants, there are hints that similar RNAdirected DNA or chromatin modifications might occur in other organisms as well.
Q17. What is the reason for the number of protein-coding genes in humans?
It is unclear, for example, why the number of protein-coding genes in humans, now estimated at ;35,000, only doubles that of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Q18. What is the possibility that HMTase function could be impaired?
intrinsically impaired HMTase function in HRX could preclude methylation-dependent binding of repressor proteins, thereby reinforcing an activated chromatin state.