Process By Which Cells 'Hide' Potentially Dangerous DNA Segments Explained

Friday, April 10, 2009 - 23:07 in Biology & Nature

Heterochromatin is the super-condensed portion of the cell's genetic material that hides unneeded genes and potentially dangerous DNA sequences such as transposons from the cell's DNA-activating machinery. Scientists have now identified a critical requirement for heterochromatin assembly. They show that it depends on the strength with which a protein called Chp1 binds to a specific site on a histone protein that is attached to the DNA double helix.

Read the whole article on Science Daily

More from Science Daily

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net