Widom J
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct. 1998;27:285-327. doi: 10.1146/annurev.biophys.27.1.285.
The substrates for the essential biological processes of transcription, replication, recombination, DNA repair, and cell division are not naked DNA; rather, they are protein-DNA complexes known as chromatin, in one or another stage of a hierarchical series of compactions. These are exciting times for students of chromatin. New studies provide incontrovertible evidence linking chromatin structure to function. Exceptional progress has been made in studies of the structure of chromatin subunits. Surprising new dynamic properties have been discovered. And, much progress has been made in dissecting the functional roles of specific chromatin proteins and domains. This review focuses on in vitro studies of chromatin structure, dynamics, and function.
转录、复制、重组、DNA修复和细胞分裂等基本生物学过程的底物并非裸露的DNA；相反，它们是蛋白质-DNA复合物，即染色质，处于一系列分级压缩的某个阶段。对于染色质研究者来说，这是激动人心的时代。新的研究提供了将染色质结构与功能联系起来的无可争议的证据。在染色质亚基结构研究方面取得了显著进展。发现了令人惊讶的新动态特性。而且，在剖析特定染色质蛋白和结构域的功能作用方面也取得了很大进展。本综述聚焦于染色质结构、动态变化和功能的体外研究。
