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Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 432–433 (1 May 2008) | doi:10.1038/nsmb0508-432

New clues to actin function in chromatin regulation

Aaron J Gottschalk , Ronald C Conaway & Joan Weliky Conaway

In eukaryotes, chromosomal DNA is packaged with histones into chromatin. Although packaging into chromatin is essential to maintain compaction of chromosomes in eukaryotic nuclei, chromatin can also act as an impediment blocking access to chromosomes of the machineries responsible for gene transcription and DNA replication and repair.