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CHEMICAL BIOLOGY

Exploring epigenetics with chemical tools

Nature Chemistry volume 12, pages 506–508 (2020)Cite this article

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Identifying chromatin modifications and their interactomes is imperative to understand how chromatin functions and is regulated. Now, two new studies report on chemical tools that enable characterization of the biological interactions within native chromatin.

Eukaryotic chromatin is a highly organized complex formed between DNA and histone proteins. Its structure, dynamics, and function are mediated by a large set of covalent modifications present in both histones and DNA, and often referred to as chromatin modifications or epigenetic marks. Over the past decade, a substantial effort was put forward to identify single chromatin modifications and combinations of epigenetic marks, and also to characterize their cognate binding partners — including proteins that specifically recognize, deposit, and remove these marks.

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Fig. 1: In nucleo semi-synthesis of the modified histone protein and its incorporation in chromatin.
Fig. 2: The ChromID approach identifies interactomes of histone PTMs and methylated DNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

    Yi Zhang & Tatiana G. Kutateladze

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  1. Yi Zhang
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  2. Tatiana G. Kutateladze
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Correspondence to Tatiana G. Kutateladze.

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Zhang, Y., Kutateladze, T.G. Exploring epigenetics with chemical tools. Nat. Chem. 12, 506–508 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-020-0471-y

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