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Related Concept Videos

Duplication of Chromatin Structure02:05

Duplication of Chromatin Structure

The process of chromosome duplication during cell division requires genome-wide disruption and re-assembly of chromatin. The chromatin structure must be accurately inherited, reassembled, and maintained in the daughter cells to ensure lineage propagation.
The basic unit of the chromatin is the nucleosome, consisting of DNA wrapped around octameric histone proteins and short stretches of linker DNA separating individual nucleosomes. The histone proteins within the nucleosome have their...
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...
The Nucleosome Core Particle01:12

The Nucleosome Core Particle

Nucleosomes are the DNA-histone complex, where the DNA strand is wound around the histone core. The histone core is an octamer containing two copies of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 histone proteins.
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their primary aim is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. On the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access histone-bound DNA during...
The Nucleosome Core Particle02:10

The Nucleosome Core Particle

Nucleosomes are the DNA-histone complex, where the DNA strand is wound around the histone core. The histone core is an octamer containing two copies of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 histone proteins.
The paradox
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their main responsibility is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. While on the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access DNA...
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins02:26

Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins

Protein domains are small structurally independent units that are part of a single amino acid chain.  Although these domains are often structurally independent, they may rely on synergistic effects to perform their functions as part of a larger protein. Protein domains may be conserved within the same organism, as well as across different organisms.
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

A Method to Study de novo Formation of Chromatin Domains
07:34

A Method to Study de novo Formation of Chromatin Domains

Published on: August 23, 2019

A core subunit of Polycomb repressive complex 1 is broadly conserved in function but not primary sequence.

Leslie Y Beh1, Lucy J Colwell, Nicole J Francis

  • 1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|April 21, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) activity is conserved across animals and plants. A disordered protein region with dispersed negative charges is key to its gene silencing function, not sequence similarity.

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Generation and Purification of Human INO80 Chromatin Remodeling Complexes and Subcomplexes

Published on: October 23, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins regulate heritable gene silencing via chromatin modification.
  • The PRC1 complex compacts chromatin and inhibits remodeling.
  • The intrinsically disordered C-terminal region of PSC (PSC-CTR) in Drosophila is crucial for these functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanistic basis and evolutionary conservation of PSC-CTR activity.
  • To understand how PSC-CTR sequence encodes function despite poor sequence conservation.
  • To determine the extent of PSC-CTR functional conservation across metazoans.

Main Methods:

  • Identified and analyzed 17 metazoan PSC-CTRs for sequence features and biochemical properties.
  • Assessed DNA binding and chromatin remodeling inhibition activity of PSC-CTRs.
  • Correlated sequence properties, specifically charge distribution, with PSC-CTR activity.

Main Results:

  • PSC-CTR sequences are poorly conserved but consistently highly charged and disordered.
  • Active PSC-CTRs, which bind DNA and inhibit chromatin remodeling, lack extended negative charge stretches.
  • Dispersing contiguous negative charges enhances PSC-CTR activity.
  • Identified conserved active PSC-CTRs in diverse metazoan genomes and a functional analog (EMF1) in plants.

Conclusions:

  • PSC-CTR activity is broadly conserved across metazoans, a finding not evident from sequence alignment alone.
  • A disordered domain with dispersed negative charges is fundamental to PRC1 activity and conserved across metazoans and plants.
  • Functional analogy exists between metazoan PSC-CTRs and plant EMF1 for PcG-mediated gene silencing.