DMMC Course: UNRAVELLING CHROMATIN & THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN DISEASE

1230-1300 Tuesday 25 April 2006. UCD Conway Institute Lecture Theatre

Histone modification
Dr Steven Gray (Institute of Molecular Medicine, St James’s Hospital & TCD)

Initially, histones were regarded as merely structural components of chromatin but they are now considered to play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression. Various histone amino-terminal modifications have been identified. These include acetylation; methylation; ubiquitination; sumoylation; ADP ribosylation; glycosylation; biotinylation, and carbonylation. The discovery that these modifications can occur in a combinatorial fashion, has led to the development of the ‘Histone Code’, a widely accepted hypothesis whereby sequential post-translational modifications to the histone tails in chromatin lead to regulated transcription of genes. This talk will outline the various known modifications and their roles in regulating gene expression.