Chromatin consists of the DNA molecule and numerous proteins, including histones, which act as packaging proteins. In contrast to the easily accessible euchromatin, which contains the majority of ...

A recent study In Press at the Journal of Cell Biology reports that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) exploits heterochromatin to successfully exit the nucleus. The heterochromatin markers macroH2A1 and ...

Heterochromatin, sometimes known as the “dark side of the genome,” is a poorly studied fraction of DNA that makes up about half of our genetic material. For more than 50 years scientists have puzzled ...

A long-standing puzzle in evolution is why new genes — ones that seem to arise out of nowhere — can quickly take over functions essential for an organism’s survival. A new study in fruit flies may ...

A chromatin is comprised of 147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around a protein core referred to as a histone. The histone is comprised of two units each of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, making an octamer. The ...

Two recent studies show that heterochromatin domain formation is driven by phase separation—a process in which proteins self-organize into liquid-like droplets that grow and fuse, allowing certain ...

Heterochromatin is a tightly packed form of DNA, which comes in different varieties. These varieties lie on a continuum between the two extremes of constitutive and facultative heterochromatin. Both ...

In an article published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists have studied a protein, called HP1, which is involved in organizing DNA. Present in both fission yeast and mammals, this ...

A powerful new discovery reveals that Nup98 a protein once thought to only ferry molecules through the nucleus plays a vital role in safeguarding the most vulnerable areas of DNA. By forming ...

This press release is available in German. To fit the two-meter long DNA molecule into a cell nucleus that is only a few thousandths of a millimetre in size, long sections of the DNA must be strongly ...