The Contradictory Definitions of Heterochromatin: Transcription and Silencing

Overview

Journal Chromosoma

Specialty Molecular Biology

Date 2006 Mar 1

PMID 16506022

Citations 97

Authors

Kathryn L Huisinga

Brent Brower-Toland

Sarah C R Elgin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Eukaryotic genomes are packaged in two general varieties of chromatin: gene-rich euchromatin and gene-poor heterochromatin. Each type of chromatin has been defined by the presence of distinct chromosomal proteins and posttranslational histone modifications. This review addresses recent findings that appear to blur the definitions of euchromatin and heterochromatin by pointing to the presence of typically heterochromatic modifications (including H3K9me) in euchromatin and typically euchromatic enzymes (including RNA polymerases) in heterochromatin. We discuss the implications of these new findings for the current definition of heterochromatin.

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