Approaches for studying nucleosome movement by ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes

Packaging DNA into compact chromatin enables eukaryotic cells to organize and regulate their genome. Packaging is achieved by wrapping ∼146-147 bp of DNA around a histone octamer to form a nucleosome, the basic unit of chromatin. Chromatin is a barrier of the bound DNA to factors involved in DNA-dependent processes such as transcription, replication, recombination, and repair. Several multisubunit protein complexes can move nucleosome to different positions on DNA utilizing energy derived from ATP hydrolysis and thereby facilitate access to DNA. Several methods are described for measuring nucleosome movement both in vivo and in vitro which provide important insights into the remodeling process.