Molecular recognition of the nucleosome by chromatin
enzymes
Song Tan
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Pennsylvania State University
Our DNA genetic material is packaged in our cells as chromatin. Although we possess structural and thermodynamic frameworks to understand how proteins bind DNA, we lack an equivalent understanding of how the nucleosome repeating unit of chromatin is recognized by the myriad of chromatin enzymes in a cell.
My laboratory is interested in addressing this deficiency through biochemical and structural investigations of chromatin enzymes and factors. I will discuss methods we have developed for preparing recombinant multicomponent complexes in E. coli, how we have used these methods to investigate histone acetyltransferase complexes, and our current structural studies of factor/nucleosome complexes.