Open AccessMechanisms of ATP-Dependent Chromatin Remodeling Motors
Author(s) -
Coral Y. Zhou,
Shirley Johnson,
Nathan Gamarra,
Geeta J. Narlikar
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
annual review of biophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 9.144
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1936-1238
pISSN - 1936-122X
DOI - 10.1146/annurev-biophys-051013-022819
Subject(s) - chromatin , chromatin remodeling , nucleosome , biology , computational biology , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , dna , genetics
Chromatin remodeling motors play essential roles in all DNA-based processes. These motors catalyze diverse outcomes ranging from sliding the smallest units of chromatin, known as nucleosomes, to completely disassembling chromatin. The broad range of actions carried out by these motors on the complex template presented by chromatin raises many stimulating mechanistic questions. Other well-studied nucleic acid motors provide examples of the depth of mechanistic understanding that is achievable from detailed biophysical studies. We use these studies as a guiding framework to discuss the current state of knowledge of chromatin remodeling mechanisms and highlight exciting open questions that would continue to benefit from biophysical analyses.