Abstract
Posttranslational modifications of nucleosomal histones regulate several key biological processes, including cell fate decision during development and functional outcomes in terminally differentiated cells. The importance of histone variants during development and in differentiated states is also emerging. In this book chapter we discuss how histone modifications and variants contribute to the establishment of a layer of coded information over the genome, which controlls the transcriptional activity of genes, and consequently, cell fates and states. We provide a historical perspective on how certain histone modifications were initially thought to be irreversible, and how the discovery of demethylases led to a paradigm shift in this field. We revisit Waddington’s epigenetic landscape from a histone modification/variant perspective, giving examples of how these chromatin marks and components are involved in cell fate decisions during development, from pluripotent cells to fully differentiated cells in the central nervous system. Finally, we discuss the roles histone modifications and variants play in controlling the reversal of cell states during reprogramming.
Published Version
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