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Environmental Epigenomics in Health and Disease pp 189–205Cite as

Chromatin Structure and Gene Expression: Function Follows Form

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Part of the book series: Epigenetics and Human Health ((EHH))

Abstract

Chromatin by its nature presents a major obstacle to all processes occurring in the nucleus: transcription, DNA repair, and replication. At local level, intimate interactions of DNA with the core histones render it less accessible to proteins that read sequence. Higher levels of chromatin organization may act to form a barrier hindering access of large macromolecular complexes to specific sequences. In this way, the spatial organization of chromatin within the nucleus constitutes the most basic level at which gene expression is regulated. These levels of structure are impacted by multiple different systems. Histone modifications play important roles in regulating transcription by affecting local and long-range chromatin structure. Accessibility of DNA binding sites to transcription factors is modulated by ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling complexes which can translocate nucleosomes over considerable distances. Here, we discuss how histone and DNA modifications affect chromatin conformation and ultimately gene expression, and we provide examples where alterations in chromatin structure impact phenotype in development, disease, and adaptation to the environment.

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Abbreviations

Ac:

Acetylation

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

AVP:

Arginine vasopressin

BPA:

Bisphenol A

CpG:

Dinucleotide 5′-cytosine phosphate guanine – 3′

CTCF:

CCCTC-binding transcription factor

EDC:

Endocrine disrupting compound

ESC:

Embryonic stem cell

HAT:

Histone acetyltransferase

HCP:

CpG-rich promoter

HMGB:

High-mobility-group box

LAD:

Lamina associated domain

LCP:

CpG-poor promoter

Me:

Methylation

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA

    Aleksandra B. Adomas & Paul A. Wade

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  1. Aleksandra B. Adomas
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  2. Paul A. Wade
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Correspondence to Paul A. Wade .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine and Public Health, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Avenue 1400, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

    Randy L Jirtle

  2. National Institute of Environmental Hea, NIEHS, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, 27709, North Carolina, USA

    Frederick L. Tyson

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Adomas, A.B., Wade, P.A. (2013). Chromatin Structure and Gene Expression: Function Follows Form. In: Jirtle, R., Tyson, F. (eds) Environmental Epigenomics in Health and Disease. Epigenetics and Human Health. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23380-7_8

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