Sperm chromatin is typically transformed by protamines into a compact and transcriptionally
inactive state,. Sperm cells of flowering plants lack protamines, yet they have small …

Heterochromatin affects genome function at many levels. It enables heritable gene
repression, maintains chromosome integrity and provides mechanical rigidity to the …

H1 linker histones are the most abundant chromatin-binding proteins. In vitro studies
indicate that their association with chromatin determines nucleosome spacing and enables …

Epigenetic reprogramming in the germline contributes to the erasure of epigenetic
inheritance across generations in mammals but remains poorly characterized in plants. Here …

Constitutive heterochromatin is an important component of eukaryotic genomes that has
essential roles in nuclear architecture, DNA repair and genome stability, and silencing of …

Gene expression in eukaryotes requires the effective separation of nuclear transcription and
RNA processing from cytosolic translation. This separation is achieved by the nuclear …

Chromatin regulation of eukaryotic genomes depends on the formation of nucleosome
complexes between histone proteins and DNA. Histone variants, which are diversified by …

Dividing eukaryotic cells package extremely long chromosomal DNA molecules into discrete
bodies to enable microtubule-mediated transport of one genome copy to each of the newly …

Chromatin is reprogrammed after fertilization to produce a totipotent zygote with the potential
to generate a new organism. The maternal genome inherited from the oocyte and the …

ALTHOUGH plants and animals diverged from each other nearly 109 yr ago, the histone
composition of their chromosomes is remarkably similar1; in particular, the arginine-rich …