Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. [1] The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important roles in reinforcing the DNA during cell division , preventing DNA damage , and regulating gene expression ...
The solenoid structure's most obvious function is to help package the DNA so that it is small enough to fit into the nucleus. This is a big task as the nucleus of a mammalian cell has a diameter of approximately 6 μm, whilst the DNA in one human cell would stretch to just over 2 metres long if it were unwound. [6]
In contrast to most eukaryotic cells, mature sperm cells largely use protamines to package their genomic DNA, most likely to achieve an even higher packaging ratio. [17] Histone equivalents and a simplified chromatin structure have also been found in Archaea, [18] suggesting that eukaryotes are not the only organisms that use nucleosomes.
The basic units of chromatin structure. Histone-modifying enzymes are enzymes involved in the modification of histone substrates after protein translation and affect cellular processes including gene expression. [1] [2] To safely store the eukaryotic genome, DNA is wrapped around four core histone proteins (H3, H4, H2A, H2B), which then join to ...
The nuclear lamina consists of two components, lamins and nuclear lamin-associated membrane proteins. The lamins are type V intermediate filaments which can be categorized as either A-type (lamin A, C) or B-type (lamin B 1, B 2) according to homology of their DNA sequences, biochemical properties and cellular localization during the cell cycle.
CTCF binds to an average of about 55,000 DNA sites in 19 diverse cell types (12 normal and 7 immortal) and in total 77,811 distinct binding sites across all 19 cell types. [29] CTCF's ability to bind to multiple sequences through the usage of various combinations of its zinc fingers earned it the status of a “multivalent protein”. [ 5 ]
In eukaryotic cells, DNA is associated with about an equal mass of histone proteins in a highly condensed nucleoprotein complex called chromatin. [14] Deoxyribonucleoproteins in this kind of complex interact to generate a multiprotein regulatory complex in which the intervening DNA is looped or wound.
Increased transcription is a result of decreased chromatin condensation, while decreased transcription results from increased chromatin condensation. [4] Methyl marks on the histones contribute to these changes by serving as sites for recruitment of other proteins that can further modify chromatin. [5]