Abstract
The accessibility of genomic DNA, as a key determinant of gene-related processes, is dependent on the packing density and structural dynamics of chromatin fiber. However, due to the highly dynamic and heterogeneous properties of chromatin fiber, it is technically challenging to study these properties of chromatin. Here, we report a strategy for dissecting the dynamics of chromatin fibers based on single-molecule magnetic tweezers. Using magnetic tweezers, we can manipulate the chromatin fiber and trace its extension during the folding and unfolding process under tension to investigate the dynamic structural transitions at single-molecule level. The highly accurate and reliable in vitro single-molecule strategy provides a new research platform to dissect the structural dynamics of chromatin fiber and its regulation by different epigenetic factors during gene expression.
Highlights
In eukaryotic cells, genomic DNA is wrapped on histones to form the nucleosome (Richmond and Davey 2003), which is the basic repeating unit of chromatin, and further folds to condensed chromatin fibers (Bickmore and van Steensel 2013)
We report a strategy to study the structural dynamics of chromatin fibers based on single-molecule magnetic tweezers
Chromatin dynamics is critical to regulate the accessibility of transcription factors via dynamic transitions between the compact chromatin fiber and the more accessible nucleosomal array in vivo (Li et al 2010; Li and Reinberg 2011)
Summary
Dissection of structural dynamics of chromatin fibers by single-molecule magnetic tweezers. Received: 26 June 2018 / Accepted: 18 July 2018 / Published online: 29 August 2018
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