Diet-mediated alteration of chromatin structure.

Higher-order chromatin structure and the process of transcription are related. The significance of a nutritional state's altering chromatin structure lies in the potential role of that nutritional state in the regulation of gene expression. In rats short-term feeding of semisynthetic diets varying in the proportion of carbohydrate, protein, or fat alters the configuration of liver chromatin as measured by sensitivity to micrococcal nuclease (EC 3.1.31.1). A carbohydrate-rich, fat-free diet increases the sensitivity of rat liver chromatin to micrococcal nuclease and decreases the nucleosome repeat length. In contrast, a protein-free diet or a diet deficient in magnesium or zinc decreases the sensitivity of liver nuclear chromatin to micrococcal nuclease. Diet-mediated mechanisms that alter chromatin structure are now unknown, but the continued study of nutritional interaction with the genome should identify the responsible features as well as their significance to gene function.