A structural perspective on the where, how, why, and what of nucleosome positioning

Gaurav Arya, Arijit Maitra, Sergei A. Grigoryev

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Scopus citations

Abstract

The DNA in eukaryotic chromatin is packed by histones into arrays of repeating units called nucleosomes. Each nucleosome contains a nucleosome core, where the DNA is wrapped around a histone octamer, and a stretch of relatively unconstrained DNA called the linker DNA. Since nucleosome cores occlude the DNA from many DNA-binding factors, their positions provide important clues for understanding chromatin packing and gene regulation. Here we review the recent advances in the genome-wide mapping of nucleosome positions, the molecular and structural determinants of nucleosome positioning, and the importance of nucleosome positioning in chromatin higher order folding and transcriptional regulation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)803-820
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics
Volume27
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Structural Biology
  • Molecular Biology

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