Title |
Specificity, propagation, and memory of pericentric heterochromatin
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Published in |
Molecular Systems Biology, August 2014
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DOI | 10.15252/msb.20145377 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Katharina Müller-Ott, Fabian Erdel, Anna Matveeva, Jan-Philipp Mallm, Anne Rademacher, Matthias Hahn, Caroline Bauer, Qin Zhang, Sabine Kaltofen, Gunnar Schotta, Thomas Höfer, Karsten Rippe |
Abstract |
The cell establishes heritable patterns of active and silenced chromatin via interacting factors that set, remove, and read epigenetic marks. To understand how the underlying networks operate, we have dissected transcriptional silencing in pericentric heterochromatin (PCH) of mouse fibroblasts. We assembled a quantitative map for the abundance and interactions of 16 factors related to PCH in living cells and found that stably bound complexes of the histone methyltransferase SUV39H1/2 demarcate the PCH state. From the experimental data, we developed a predictive mathematical model that explains how chromatin-bound SUV39H1/2 complexes act as nucleation sites and propagate a spatially confined PCH domain with elevated histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation levels via chromatin dynamics. This "nucleation and looping" mechanism is particularly robust toward transient perturbations and stably maintains the PCH state. These features make it an attractive model for establishing functional epigenetic domains throughout the genome based on the localized immobilization of chromatin-modifying enzymes. |
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Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 4 | 33% |
Germany | 2 | 17% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 8% |
Unknown | 5 | 42% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 7 | 58% |
Scientists | 4 | 33% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 8% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
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Germany | 3 | 2% |
Iran, Islamic Republic of | 1 | <1% |
Denmark | 1 | <1% |
Korea, Republic of | 1 | <1% |
Spain | 1 | <1% |
United States | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 128 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 41 | 30% |
Researcher | 20 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 14 | 10% |
Student > Master | 9 | 7% |
Professor | 8 | 6% |
Other | 18 | 13% |
Unknown | 26 | 19% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 47 | 35% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 37 | 27% |
Computer Science | 3 | 2% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 3 | 2% |
Physics and Astronomy | 3 | 2% |
Other | 10 | 7% |
Unknown | 33 | 24% |