Maintenance of Gene Expression States

In multicellular organisms, the unique transcriptional program executed by each cell determines cellular identity. Indeed aberrant gene expression is a causal factor in many common human diseases, including cancer. While the availability of appropriate transcriptional activators or repressors determines whether a gene is transcribed, alteration of chromatin structure plays an important role in maintaining gene expression states. Chromatin is a nucleoprotein structure, consisting of DNA, histones, and non-histone proteins, which packages DNA in the eukaryotic nucleus. Our research uses a combination of molecular biology and bioinformatics to study the roles played by histones, histone chaperones, histone variants, and histone post-translational modifications in preserving active gene expression patterns.