Premium
Cryo‐electron microscopy of chromatin biology
Author(s) -
Wilson Marcus D.,
Costa Alessandro
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta crystallographica section d
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.374
H-Index - 138
ISSN - 2059-7983
DOI - 10.1107/s2059798317004430
Subject(s) - chromatin , nucleosome , computational biology , dna , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , cryo electron microscopy , electron microscope , histone , nanotechnology , biophysics , genetics , physics , materials science , optics
The basic unit of chromatin, the nucleosome core particle (NCP), controls how DNA in eukaryotic cells is compacted, replicated and read. Since its discovery, biochemists have sought to understand how this protein–DNA complex can help to control so many diverse tasks. Recent electron‐microscopy (EM) studies on NCP‐containing assemblies have helped to describe important chromatin transactions at a molecular level. With the implementation of recent technical advances in single‐particle EM, our understanding of how nucleosomes are recognized and read looks to take a leap forward. In this review, the authors highlight recent advances in the architectural understanding of chromatin biology elucidated by EM.