dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaControlled DNA compaction within chromatin: the tail-bridging effect
| Authors | Frank Muehlbacher, Christian Holm, Helmut Schiessel |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0503007 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0503007 |
| DOI | 10.1209/epl/i2005-10351-4 |
Abstract
We study the mechanism underlying the attraction between nucleosomes, the fundamental packaging units of DNA inside the chromatin complex. We introduce a simple model of the nucleosome, the eight-tail colloid, consisting of a charged sphere with eight oppositely charged, flexible, grafted chains that represent the terminal histone tails. We demonstrate that our complexes are attracted via the formation of chain bridges and that this attraction can be tuned by changing the fraction of charged monomers on the tails. This suggests a physical mechanism of chromatin compaction where the degree of DNA condensation can be controlled via biochemical means, namely the acetylation and deacetylation of lysines in the histone tails.
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"abstract": "We study the mechanism underlying the attraction between nucleosomes, the\nfundamental packaging units of DNA inside the chromatin complex. We introduce a\nsimple model of the nucleosome, the eight-tail colloid, consisting of a charged\nsphere with eight oppositely charged, flexible, grafted chains that represent\nthe terminal histone tails. We demonstrate that our complexes are attracted via\nthe formation of chain bridges and that this attraction can be tuned by\nchanging the fraction of charged monomers on the tails. This suggests a\nphysical mechanism of chromatin compaction where the degree of DNA condensation\ncan be controlled via biochemical means, namely the acetylation and\ndeacetylation of lysines in the histone tails.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0503007",
"authors": [
"Frank Muehlbacher",
"Christian Holm",
"Helmut Schiessel"
],
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"q-bio.BM"
],
"doi": "10.1209/epl/i2005-10351-4",
"title": "Controlled DNA compaction within chromatin: the tail-bridging effect",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0503007"
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