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Related Concept Videos

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...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures03:17

Inheritance of Chromatin Structures

Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in a cell's phenotype without changing the DNA sequences. It provides a form of memory for the differential gene expression pattern to maintain cell lineage, position-effect variegation, dosage compensation, and maintenance of chromatin structures such as telomeres and centromeres. For example, the structure and location of the centromere on chromosomes are epigenetically inherited. Its functionality is not dictated or ensured by the underlying DNA...
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications02:25

Spreading of Chromatin Modifications

The histone proteins in the nucleosomes are post-translationally modified (PTM) to increase or decrease access to DNA. The commonly observed PTMs are methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination of lysine amino acids in the histone H3 tail region. These histone modifications have specific meaning for the cell. Hence, they are called "histone code". The protein complex involved in histone modification is termed as "reader-writer" complex.
Writers
The writer is an enzyme that can...
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...
Chromatin Position Affects Gene Expression02:35

Chromatin Position Affects Gene Expression

Chromatin is the massive complex of DNA and proteins packaged inside the nucleus. The complexity of chromatin folding and how it is packaged inside the nucleus greatly influences  access to genetic information. Generally, the nucleus' periphery is considered transcriptionally repressive, while the cell's interior is considered a transcriptionally active area. 
Topologically Associated Domains (TADs)
The 3-dimensional positioning of chromatin in the nucleus influences the timing and level of...

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HOX Loci Focused CRISPR/sgRNA Library Screening Identifying Critical CTCF Boundaries
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Published on: March 31, 2019

Human tRNA genes function as chromatin insulators.

Jesse R Raab1, Jonathan Chiu, Jingchun Zhu

  • 1Department of MCD Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.

The EMBO Journal
|November 17, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Transfer RNA genes (tDNAs) can act as barrier insulators in human cells, separating active and silenced chromatin. These tDNA insulators also block enhancer activity and interact with other tDNAs, influencing genome organization.

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Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Epigenetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Insulators are crucial regulatory elements that define chromatin domain boundaries.
  • In metazoans, insulators are typically complex, multipartite entities.
  • Transfer RNA genes (tDNAs) are repetitive elements found throughout the human genome.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential of human tDNAs to function as genomic insulators.
  • To identify and characterize tDNA-based insulators in human cells.
  • To determine if tDNA insulators can block silencing and enhancer activity.

Main Methods:

  • Computational identification of putative tDNA insulators.
  • Functional assays including silencer blocking, transgene protection, and repressor blocking.
  • Chromatin signature analysis and enhanced 4C (chromosome conformation capture) analysis.

Main Results:

  • Identified and validated several tDNA-containing fragments functioning as barrier insulators in human cells.
  • Demonstrated that these tDNA insulators can block the spread of silencing and prevent enhancer-mediated activation of RNA polymerase II promoters.
  • Characterized a tDNA insulator with chromatin signatures typical of eukaryotic insulators and identified long-range interactions with other tDNAs.

Conclusions:

  • Human tDNAs represent a novel class of functional barrier insulators.
  • tDNA insulators play a role in genome organization by mediating long-range chromatin contacts.
  • tDNA insulators contribute to the regulation of gene expression by compartmentalizing chromatin domains.