Nucleosome Core Allostery Governs Chromatin Recognition and Cell Fate

Single-residue variation in the nucleosome core reveals a regulatory hub for phenotypic innovation

The six-residue loop 2 of H2A and H2A is used to map, at single-residue resolution, how nucleosome-core variation reshapes cellular function, and identifies histone variation as a source of phenotypic innovation.

Rotational settings quantize nucleosome movement by chromatin regulators.

Proper nucleosome positioning is essential for gene regulation and genomic integrity. Current models posit that chromatin regulators override histones' intrinsic sequence preferences to establish nucleosome landscapes observed in vivo, implying a minimal role for DNA sequence in guiding nucleosomal structure. In contra...

The mammalian genome is punctuated by regularly spaced nucleosome islands

Nucleosome positioning plays a fundamental role in regulating DNA accessibility and cellular activity, yet the precise rules by which mammalian sequences instruct this organization have remained incomplete. Prior work has established that intrinsic sequence preferences dictate nucleosome architecture in yeast, but in m...

INO80 rapidly shuttles nucleosomes between chromatin barriers

ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers establish nucleosome organization, but how they move nucleosomes over extended distances and respond to neighboring chromatin remains unclear. Here, we combine correlative optical tweezers and fluorescence microscopy, and single-molecule FRET to visualize human INO80 activity on naked...

Transcription factors read a second regulatory code in chromatin

Nucleosome simulations suggest mechanisms of electrostatically-driven mesoscale chromatin evolution

Nucleosomes are structures made up of proteins called histones that bind and compact DNA, driving the mesoscale organization of the chromatin polymer. Although histone proteins have diversified over evolutionary time, their contributions to the corresponding diversification of chromatin structure are poorly understood....