#nucleosomes

[memoriesfromthefuture]

Welcome back! In July, we are shifting gears to talk about the molecular mechanisms mediating the link between genetics and the environment—epigenetic markers. Check it out and subscribe!

[thoths-foundry-blog]

Nanowerk, the leading nanotechnology portal, is committed to educate, inform and inspire about nanotechnologies, nanosciences, and other emerging techs

Every human cell contains some two meters of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which encodes the genetic information that specifies the cellular structures and functions. Moreover, this “genomic” DNA is packed into the cell nucleus, which is less than 10 micrometers in diameter. This means that the nuclear DNA must be packed, primarily by interacting with specific proteins. The basic packing unit is a particle made of proteins called histones, around which the DNA is wrapped. Comparable to small spools, these structures are referred to as nucleosomes. Nucleosomes in turn are linked to one another by segments of DNA that extend between the core particles and are not wrapped around them. Viewed under the electron microscope, the DNA packed in nucleosomes resembles beads on a string.

The next level of packaging involves the mutual interaction of nucleosomes, and the resulting higher-order structures have not yet been completely characterized. A team of scientists led by Hendrik Dietz of the Technical University of Munich and Philipp Korber at LMU’s Biomedical Center has now taken a substantial step toward solving this puzzle: For the first time ever, they have succeeded in directly measuring the attractive forces that act between nucleosomes. Their results appear in the journals Science Advances ("Uncovering the forces between nucleosomes using DNA origami") and Nano Letters ("Exploring Nucleosome Unwrapping Using DNA Origami"). Read more: DNA-based nano-tweezers measure the forces between nucleosomes

[anatomybox]

Nucleosomes

Structures consisting of DNA wrapped around an octamer of histones are called nucleosomes and are a…

View Post