Imhof Axel, Bonaldi Tiziana
Adolf-Butenandt Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Histone Modifications Group, Ludwig-Maximillians University of Munich, Schillerstr. 44, 80336 Munich, Germany.
Mol Biosyst. 2005 Jul;1(2):112-6. doi: 10.1039/b502845k. Epub 2005 Jun 17.
Chromatin is a highly complex mixture of proteins and DNA that is involved in the regulation and coordination of gene expression within the eukaryotic nucleus. Changes in chromatin structure can convey heritable changes of gene activity in response to external stimuli without altering the primary DNA sequence. This epigenetic inheritance of particular traits very likely plays a major role during evolutionary processes. It is however, still ill-defined how this non DNA-mediated inheritance is accomplished at a molecular level. The advent of new methods to systematically study genome-wide changes in chromatin condensation, DNA methylation levels, RNA synthesis and the association of specific proteins or protein modifications now allows a thorough investigation of changes in chromatin structure and function in response to environmental alterations. We would like to review some of these global approaches and to introduce the term "chromatomics" for the systematic analysis of the DNA, RNA and protein content of the genetic material in the eukaryotic nucleus.
染色质是蛋白质和DNA的高度复杂混合物，参与真核细胞核内基因表达的调控与协调。染色质结构的变化能够在不改变DNA一级序列的情况下，响应外部刺激传递基因活性的可遗传变化。特定性状的这种表观遗传在进化过程中很可能发挥着重要作用。然而，这种非DNA介导的遗传在分子水平上是如何实现的，目前仍不清楚。用于系统研究全基因组范围内染色质凝聚、DNA甲基化水平、RNA合成以及特定蛋白质或蛋白质修饰关联变化的新方法的出现，现在使得我们能够全面研究染色质结构和功能对环境变化的响应。我们想回顾其中一些全局方法，并引入“染色质组学”这一术语，用于对真核细胞核内遗传物质的DNA、RNA和蛋白质含量进行系统分析。
