Fundamentals of Chromatin

While there has been an increasing number of books on various aspects of epigenetics, there has been a gap over the years in books that provide a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of chromatin. Chromatin is the combination of DNA and proteins that make up the genetic material of chromosomes. Its primary function is to package DNA to fit into the cell, to strengthen the DNA to prevent damage, to allow mitosis and meiosis, and to control the expression of genes and DNA replication. The audience for this book is mainly newly established scientists and graduate students. Rather than going into the more specific areas of recent research on chromatin the chapters in this book give a strong, updated groundwork about the topic. Some the fundamentals that this book will cover include the structure of chromatin and biochemistry and the enzyme complexes that manage it.

Preface.- Histone, Nucleosome and Chromatin Structure.- Histone Chaperones in the Assembly and Disassembly of Chromatin.- Chromatin Remodeling Complexes.- Regulating Chromatin by Histone Acetylation.- Histone Methylation in Chromatin Signaling.- Histone Ubiquitylation Control of Gene Expression.- Regulation of Chromatin Structure and Function by PARP-1 and ADP-ribosylation.- Histone phosphorylation and chromatin dynamics.- Reading histone modifications.- Properties and functions of histone variants.- Transcription through Chromatin.- Chromatin remodeling in DNA repair and replication.- Heterochromatin: A Critical Part of the Genome.- Emerging Areas of Chromatin Research.- Index.