An ambitious EC-funded research initiative on epigenetics advancing towards systems biology

Nucleosomes are the basic building block of chromatin. As nucleosomal DNA is usually much less accessible for DNA binding factors than non-nucleosomal DNA, the positioning of nucleosomes yields one of the most fundamental levels of epigenetic genome regulation. We study the molecular mechanisms that determine nucleosome positioning in vivo using yeasts as model system. Our group developed an in vitro system based on yeast extracts that is able to generate in vivo-like nucleosome positioning. This way we could reconstitute proper nucleosome positioning over most of the yeast genome including regular nucleosomal arrays emanating from nucleosome depleted regions (NDRs) at transcription start sites, which are the hallmarks of nucleosome organisation in vivo. With this approach we do now genome-wide biochemistry of nucleosome position mechanisms.

PhD student in Korber group involved in EpiGeneSys activities:

Nils Krietenstein
title of thesis project: ″Nucleosome positioning factors in yeast as determined by genome-wide in vitro reconstitution“