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The architecture and function of the chromatin replication machinery
Thomas Cr Miller1, Alessandro Costa1
1Molecular Machines Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Rd, NW11AT London, United Kingdom.
Current Opinion in Structural Biology
|April 19, 2017
Summary
Eukaryotic DNA replication involves dismantling and reassembling nucleosomes, the basic units of DNA packaging. Recent discoveries reveal how DNA replication machinery and histone chaperones cooperate for efficient chromatin duplication.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Epigenetics
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Eukaryotic genomic DNA is organized into nucleosome arrays.
- DNA replication requires nucleosome disassembly and reassembly.
- Understanding chromatin duplication is crucial for cell division.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the architecture and function of the core eukaryotic DNA replication machinery.
- To understand the integration of histone chaperones with the replisome.
- To model how nucleosomes are reshuffled during DNA replication.
Main Methods:
- Investigating the core replisome machinery.
- Studying histone chaperone interactions.
- Developing mechanistic models of epigenetic inheritance.
Main Results:
- Recent insights are clarifying DNA replication processes.
- Breakthroughs in epigenetic inheritance offer new models.
- Histone chaperones integrate with the replisome to reshuffle nucleosomes.
Conclusions:
- The eukaryotic DNA replication machinery possesses elements for nucleosome handling.
- These elements facilitate efficient chromatin duplication.
- An integrated view of replication and chromatin dynamics is emerging.