Modeling studies of chromatin fiber structure as a function of DNA linker length.

ABSTRACT: Chromatin fibers encountered in various species and tissues are characterized by different nucleosome repeat lengths (NRLs) of the linker DNA connecting the nucleosomes. While single cellular organisms and rapidly growing cells with high protein production have short NRL ranging from 160 to 189 bp, mature cells usually have longer NRLs ranging between 190 and 220 bp. Recently, various experimental studies have examined the effect of NRL on the internal organization of chromatin fiber. Here, we investigate by mesoscale modeling of oligonucleosomes the folding patterns for different NRL, with and without linker histone (LH), under typical monovalent salt conditions using both one-start solenoid and two-start zigzag starting configurations. We find that short to medium NRL chromatin fibers (1

SUBMITTER: Perisic O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2966533 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature