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Related Concept Videos

Histone Variants at the Centromere02:30

Histone Variants at the Centromere

Histone variants are the histone proteins with structural and sequence variations. These variants may be regarded as “mutant” forms that replace their canonical histone counterparts in the nucleosomes. Specific post-translational modifications on the histone variants enable further chromatin complexity and regulate tissue-specific gene expression. The most common histone variants are from histone H2A, H2B, and linker histone H1 families. However, several variants of histone H3 variants are also...
Heterochromatin02:38

Heterochromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Heterochromatin02:38

Heterochromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Euchromatin01:01

Euchromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions take up more dye, appearing darker, while the less-compact areas take up less dye and appear lighter. Based on the compaction level, chromatins are classified into two primary forms – euchromatin and heterochromatin.
Euchromatin is the less dense region of the chromatin and stains lighter. Euchromatin contains histone H3 extensively...
Histone Modification02:32

Histone Modification

The histone proteins have a flexible N-terminal tail extending out from the nucleosome. These histone tails are often subjected to post-translational modifications such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. Particular combinations of these modifications form “histone codes” that influence the chromatin folding and tissue-specific gene expression.
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone deacetylase,...
Histone Modification02:32

Histone Modification

The histone proteins have a flexible N-terminal tail extending out from the nucleosome. These histone tails are often subjected to post-translational modifications such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. Particular combinations of these modifications form “histone codes” that influence the chromatin folding and tissue-specific gene expression.
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone deacetylase,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins
05:35

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins

Published on: March 3, 2016

Histone modifications within the human X centromere region.

Brankica Mravinac1, Lori L Sullivan, Jason W Reeves

  • 1Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.

Plos One
|August 13, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Human centromeres contain diverse chromatin types and organize like smaller centromeres. Structural changes alter centromeric DNA domains, maintaining CENP-A ratios for kinetochore assembly.

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Identification of Modified Histones as Binding Substrates of Human Spindlin Family Member 4 (SPIN4) by Peptide Arrays and Native Nucleosome Pulldown
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Identification of Modified Histones as Binding Substrates of Human Spindlin Family Member 4 (SPIN4) by Peptide Arrays and Native Nucleosome Pulldown

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Mass Spectrometry Analysis to Identify Ubiquitylation of EYFP-tagged CENP-A (EYFP-CENP-A)
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Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins
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Identification of Modified Histones as Binding Substrates of Human Spindlin Family Member 4 (SPIN4) by Peptide Arrays and Native Nucleosome Pulldown
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Mass Spectrometry Analysis to Identify Ubiquitylation of EYFP-tagged CENP-A (EYFP-CENP-A)
09:02

Mass Spectrometry Analysis to Identify Ubiquitylation of EYFP-tagged CENP-A (EYFP-CENP-A)

Published on: June 10, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Epigenetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Human centromeres are large, repetitive DNA regions crucial for chromosome segregation.
  • Assembling and studying these complex regions has been challenging.
  • A genomic map of the human X centromere enables detailed investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate histone modification patterns within the human X centromere.
  • To understand the relationship between chromatin organization and centromere function.
  • To explore the impact of structural changes on centromere architecture.

Main Methods:

  • Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to map histone modifications.
  • Analysis of histone methylation (H3K4me) and heterochromatic marks.
  • Examination of centromeric DNA arrays (alpha satellite, gamma satellite) and CENP-A localization.

Main Results:

  • H3K4me methylation marks DXZ1 higher order alpha satellite, where CENP-A localizes.
  • Heterochromatic modifications are found in pericentromeric regions.
  • Pericentromeric repeats exhibit both euchromatic and heterochromatic characteristics.
  • X centromere truncation reduced the CENP-A domain size and increased flanking heterochromatin.
  • The ratio of CENP-A to alpha satellite array size remained constant despite DNA deletion.

Conclusions:

  • The human X centromere comprises multiple chromatin types and organizes similarly to smaller eukaryotic centromeres.
  • Centromeric chromatin is dynamic and responds to structural alterations by adjusting domain sizes.
  • A defined linear region of centromeric DNA is essential for kinetochore assembly, maintaining CENP-A proportion.