X-Nico

unusual facts about Chromatin


Titia de Lange

De Lange obtained her Masters on "Chromatin structure of the human ß-globin gene locus" at the University of Amsterdam in 1981, and subsequently her PhD at the same institution in 1985 with Piet Borst on surface antigen genes in trypanosomes.


Archibald Macallum

In 1901, he showed that the chromatin in cell nuclei contains iron, and in his early years at the University of Toronto he adapted measurement methods for a number of ions (chloride, potassium and phosphorus) for use with tissue and cell samples.

Bacterial one-hybrid system

Microarray-based readout of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-chip) for high-throughput binding-site determination relies on specific antibodies which may not always be available.

Bruce Ponder

He carried out his PhD studies with Lionel Crawford in London working on chromatin organisation and DNA sequence specificity using polyoma virus.

Bruce William Stillman

He developed a biochemical system to study DNA replication-coupled chromatin assembly in a test tube and discovered proteins such as Chromatin Assembly Factor-1 (CAF-1) that cooperate with the DNA replication machinery to assemble new histones onto the DNA.

Chromatin remodeling

There are at least five families of chromatin remodelers in eukaryotes : SWI/SNF, ISWI, NuRD/Mi-2/CHD, INO80 and SWR1 with first two remodelers being very well studied so far, especially in the yeast model.

Endospore

The core contains the spore chromosomal DNA which is encased in chromatin-like proteins known as SASPs (small acid-soluble spore proteins), that protect the spore DNA from UV radiation and heat.

FOXP2 and human evolution

On the other hand, analysis of FOXP2, using the chromatin immunoprecipitation technique, revealed that it binds onto and directly down-regulates expression of CNTNAP2, a gene found to be associated with nonsense-word repetition, a major marker of SLI.

H2B

Histone H2B, one of 5 main histone proteins involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells

Integrase

Human chromatin-associated protein LEDGF, which tightly binds HIV IN and directs HIV PIC towards highly-expressed genes for integration, is an example of such a host factor.

KCNQ1OT1

It interacts with chromatin, the histone methyltransferase G9a (responsible for the mono- and dimethylation of histone 3 lysine 9, H3K9), and the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, PRC2, (responsible for the trimethylation of H3K27).

Paul Knoepfler

Knoepfler did his postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the laboratory of Bob Eisenman, studying Myc regulation of chromatin in stem cells and cancers of the nervous system.

Robijn Bruinsma

His research specialties include the numerical Simulation of active proteins and of Gene transcription, the self-assembly of viruses, DNA, and chromatin, the electrostatics of DNA and electrical transport along DNA, and adhesion of vesicles and cells.

SETDB1

The SET domain is a highly conserved, approximately 150-amino acid motif implicated in the modulation of chromatin structure.

SMARCAL1

Members of this family have helicase and ATPase activities and are thought to regulate transcription of certain genes by altering the chromatin structure around those genes.

Tumor suppressor gene

Among the most frequently mutated genes are components of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, which are lost in about 20% of tumors.

UVR8

It shares sequence homology with mammalian proteins involved in regulating chromatin condensation, for example the human RCC1 gene product.


see also