The tails of the four core histones are exposed on the nucleosome surface, where they are subject to a variety of enzyme-catalyzed, post-translational modifications. Modifications, singly or in combination, provide a source of information that can be used for signal transduction during ongoing processes, such as transcription, or as heritable epigenetic marks. A nomenclature is presented that allows patterns of histone modification to be clearly and unambiguously specified and that should facilitate discussion of their functional roles.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Finch, J.T. et al. Structure of the nucleosome core particle of chromatin. Nature 269, 29–36 (1977).
Kornberg, R.D. Chromatin structure: a repeating unit of histones and DNA. Science 184, 868–871 (1974).
Bradbury, E.M. Histone nomenclature. Methods Cell Biol. 16, 179–181 (1977).
Van Holde, K.E. Chromatin (Springer, New York, 1988).
Allfrey, V.G., Faulkner, R. & Mirsky, A.E. Acetylation and methylation of histones and their possible role in the regulation of RNA synthesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 51, 786–794 (1964).
Hebbes, T.R., Thorne, A.W. & Crane-Robinson, C. A direct link between core histone acetylation and transcriptionally active chromatin. EMBO J. 7, 1395–1403 (1988).
Turner, B.M., Birley, A.J. & Lavender, J. Histone H4 isoforms acetylated at specific lysine residues define individual chromosomes and chromatin domains in Drosophila polytene nuclei. Cell 69, 375–384 (1992).
Turner, B.M. Decoding the nucleosome. Cell 75, 5–8 (1993)
Felsenfeld, G. & Groudine, M. Controlling the double helix. Nature 421, 448–453 (2003).
Lachner, M., O'Sullivan, R.J. & Jenuwein, T. An epigenetic road map for histone lysine methylation. J. Cell Sci. 116, 2117–2124 (2003).
Métivier, R. et al. Estrogen receptor-α directs ordered, cyclical, and combinatorial recruitment of cofactors on a natural target promoter. Cell 115, 751–763 (2003).
Schreiber, S.L. & Bernstein, B. Signaling network model of chromatin. Cell 111, 771–778 (2002).
Shiio, Y. & Eisenman, R.N. Histone sumoylation is associated with transcriptional repression. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100, 13225–23230 (2003).
Schotta, G. et al. Silencing pathway to induce H3-K9 and H4-K20 trimethylation at constitutive heterochromatin. Genes Dev. 18, 1251–1262 (2004).
Peters, A.H. et al. Partitioning and plasticity of repressive histone methylation states in mammalian chromatin. Mol. Cell 12, 1577–1589 (2003).
Turner, B.M. Histone acetylation and an epigenetic code. BioEssays 22, 836–845 (2000).
Strahl, B. & Allis, C.D. The language of covalent histone modifications Nature 403, 41–45 (2000).
Turner, B.M. Cellular memory and the histone code. Cell 111, 285–291 (2002).
Fischle, W., Wang, Y. & Allis, C.D. Binary switches and modification cassettes in histone biology and beyond. Nature 425, 475–479 (2003).
Mateescu, B. et al. Tethering of HP1 proteins to chromatin is relieved by phosphoacetylation of histone H3. EMBO Rep. 5, 490–496 (2004).
Acknowledgements
The nomenclature set out here was devised following the first meeting of the Epigenome Network of Excellence (NoE), at the Mendel Abbey in Brno, Czech Republic. For this reason, it can be referred to as the Brno nomenclature. Epigenome is a consortium of 25 research groups across Europe, plus associated members and NET teams, working in epigenetic research and funded by the European Union. The network is coordinated and directed by T. Jenuwein (Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna). The nomenclature presented here was finalized following wide discussions after the meeting, including consultations with the seven members of our scientific advisory board, all from the United States. I am grateful to all those who took part for their helpful, constructive and insightful comments, but particularly to P. Becker and A. Peters for a crucial early suggestion. Details of the network and its members are available at http://www.epigenome-noe.net/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Turner, B. Reading signals on the nucleosome with a new nomenclature for modified histones. Nat Struct Mol Biol 12, 110–112 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0205-110
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0205-110