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The establishment of active promoters in chromatin
Author(s) -
Becker Peter B.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.950160807
Subject(s) - chromatin , nucleosome , chia pet , chromatin remodeling , biology , promoter , transcription (linguistics) , scaffold/matrix attachment region , transcription coregulator , pioneer factor , microbiology and biotechnology , bivalent chromatin , dna , transcription factor , computational biology , genetics , genome , histone modifying enzymes , gene , gene expression , linguistics , philosophy
The organization of eukaryotic genomes as chromatin provides the framework within which regulated transcription occurs in the nucleus. The association of DNA with chromatin proteins required to package the genome into the nucleus is, in general, inhibitory to transcription, and therefore provides opportunities for regulated transcriptional activation. Granting access to the cis ‐acting elements in DNA, a prerequisite for any further action of the trans ‐acting factors involved, requires the establishment of local heterogeneity of chromatin and, in some cases, extensive remodeling of nucleosomal structures. Challenging problems relate to the establishment of this heterogeneity at the level of the single nucleosome and to the mechanisms that operate when nucleosomal arrays are reorganized. Recent developments indicate that chromatin reconstitution in cell‐free systems allows the biochemical analysis of the interplay between transcription factors and chromatin components that brings about regulated transcription.