Related papers: Change Point Analysis of Histone Modifications Rev…
The role of post-translational modification of histones in eukaryotic gene regulation is well recognized. Epigenetic silencing of genes via heritable chromatin modifications plays a major role in cell fate specification in higher organisms.…
A quantum mechanical model on histone modification is proposed. Along with the methyl / acetate or other groups bound to the modified residues the torsion angles of the nearby histone chain are supposed to participate in the quantum…
How much information does a cell inherit from its ancestors beyond its genetic sequence? What are the epigenetic mechanisms that allow this? Despite the rise in available epigenetic data, how such information is inherited through the cell…
Due to recent breakthroughs in state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technology, genomics data sets have become ubiquitous. The emergence of large-scale data sets provides great opportunities for better understanding of genomics, especially gene…
The histone-DNA interaction in the nucleosome is a fundamental mechanism of genomic compaction and regulation, which remains largely unkown despite a growing structural knowledge of the complex. Here, we propose a framework for the…
Essential life processes take place across multiple space and time scales in living organisms but understanding their mechanistic interactions remains an ongoing challenge. Advanced multiscale modeling techniques are providing new…
In addition to natural selection, adaptive evolution requires genetic variation to proceed. Yet the G-matrix may have limited 'genetic degrees of freedom', with certain combinations of trait values unavailable to evolution. Such limitations…
In cell differentiation, a cell of a less specialized type becomes one of a more specialized type, even though all cells have the same genome. Transcription factors and epigenetic marks like histone modifications can play a significant role…
Co-localization of networks of genes in the nucleus is thought to play an important role in determining gene expression patterns. Based upon experimental data, we built a dynamical model to test whether pure diffusion could account for the…
Eukaryotes tune the transcriptional activity of their genome by altering the nucleosome core particle through multiple chemical processes. In particular, replacement of the canonical H2A histone with the variants macroH2A and H2A.Z has been…
The intricate pattern of chemical modifications on DNA and histones, the "histone code", is considered to be a key gene regulation factor. Multivalency is seen by many as an essential instrument to transmit the "encoded" information to the…
Chromatin is repeatedly deformed in vivo during transcription, nuclear remodeling, and confined migration - yet how mechanical response varies from locus to locus, and how it relates to epigenetic state, remains unclear. We develop a theory…
Increasing evidence suggests that chromosome folding and genetic expression are intimately connected. For example, the co-expression of a large number of genes can benefit from their spatial co-localization in the cellular space.…
Nucleosome core particle is a dynamic structure -- DNA may transiently peel off the histone octamer surface due to thermal fluctuations or the action of chromatin remodeling enzymes. Partial DNA unwrapping enables easier access of…
In the crowded eukaryotic nucleus, euchromatin and heterochromatin segregate into distinct compartments, a phenomenon often attributed to homotypic interactions mediated by liquid liquid phase separation of chromatin associated proteins.…
Epistasis describes the phenomenon that mutations at different loci do not have independent effects with regard to certain phenotypes. Understanding the global epistatic landscape is vital for many genetic and evolutionary theories. Current…
In higher organisms, all cells share the same genome, but every cell expresses only a limited and specific set of genes that defines the cell type. During cell division, not only the genome, but also the cell type is inherited by the…
We construct and analyze monomeric and multimeric models of the stochastic disassembly of a single nucleosome. Our monomeric model predicts the time needed for a number of histone-DNA contacts to spontaneously break, leading to dissociation…
Genes are frequently regulated in complex manners, necessitating modelling approaches which go beyond simple (linear) gene-to-gene interactions and address the modularity of cis-regulatory regions and alternate transcription initiation…
Epigenetics is a driving force of important and ubiquitous phenomena in nature such as cell differentiation or even metamorphosis. Oppositely to its widespread role, understanding the biophysical principles that allow epigenetics to control…