Histone modification controls development: Chemical tags on histones regulate gene activity
Friday, February 8, 2013 - 12:30
in Biology & Nature
Every gene in the nucleus of an animal or plant cell is packaged into a beads-on-a-string like structure called nucleosomes: the DNA of the gene forms the string and a complex of proteins called histones forms the beads around which the DNA is wrapped. Scientists have now established that adding chemical tags on histones is critical for regulating gene activity during animal development. Studies over the past two decades revealed that many proteins that control the activity of genes are enzymes that add small chemical tags on histone proteins but also on a variety of other proteins. With their studies the researchers have now shown that it is the tags on the histones that control if genes are active or inactive.