Abstract
In eukaryotes, chromatin is the natural form of DNA in the nucleus. For hundreds of millions of years, DNA-binding factors have evolved with chromatin. It is therefore more desirable to study the molecular mechanisms of DNA-directed processes with chromatin than with naked DNA templates. To this end, it is necessary to reconstitute DNA and histones into chromatin. Fortunately, there are a variety of methods by which a nonspecialist can prepare chromatin of high quality. Here, we describe strategies and techniques for the reconstitution of chromatin in vitro.
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Acknowledgements
We thank T. Yusufzai, T. Juven-Gershon, J.-Y. Hsu, C. Y. Lim, B. Rattner and T. Boulay for critical reading of the manuscript. Our research on chromatin assembly and function was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (GM 46995 and GM58272) and the Volkswagen Stiftung (I/77 995) to J.T.K. A.L. is the recipient of a fellowship from the Austrian Programme for Advanced Research and Technology (APART) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
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Lusser, A., Kadonaga, J. Strategies for the reconstitution of chromatin. Nat Methods 1, 19–26 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth709
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