Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary.
Brief Funct Genomics. 2012 Jul;11(4):319-31. doi: 10.1093/bfgp/els029.
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of nucleosomal core histones play roles in basic biological processes via altering chromatin structure and creating target sites for proteins acting on chromatin. Several features make Drosophila a uniquely effective model for studying PTMs. Position effect variegation, polycomb repression, dosage compensation and several other processes extensively studied by the powerful tools of Drosophila genetics as well as polytene chromosome cytology reveal information on the dynamic changes of histone PTMs and factors that deposit, remove and recognize these. Recent determination of the genome-wide distribution of more than 20 different histone PTM types has resulted in a highly detailed view of chromatin landscape. This review samples from the wealth of data these analyses have provided together with data resulting from gene-targeted studies on the distribution and role of specific histone modifications and modifiers. As an example of the complex interactions among PTMs, we will also discuss crosstalk involving specific phosphorylated and acetylated histone forms.
核小体核心组蛋白的翻译后修饰（PTMs）通过改变染色质结构并为作用于染色质的蛋白质创建靶标位点，在基本的生物学过程中发挥作用。几个特点使果蝇成为研究 PTM 的独特有效模型。位置效应异质性、多梳抑制、剂量补偿和其他几个过程，通过果蝇遗传学的强大工具以及多线染色体细胞学得到了广泛研究，揭示了组蛋白 PTM 及其沉积、去除和识别这些 PTM 的因素的动态变化的信息。最近对 20 多种不同组蛋白 PTM 类型的全基因组分布的测定，使得人们对染色质景观有了非常详细的了解。本综述从这些分析提供的大量数据以及基因靶向研究特定组蛋白修饰和修饰剂的分布和作用的数据中进行了采样。作为 PTM 之间复杂相互作用的一个例子，我们还将讨论涉及特定磷酸化和乙酰化组蛋白形式的串扰。
