title: Internucleosomal interactions mediated by histone tails allow distant communication in chromatin.
abstract: Action across long distances on chromatin is a hallmark of eukaryotic transcriptional regulation. Although chromatin structure per se can support long-range interactions, the mechanisms of efficient communication between widely spaced DNA modules in chromatin remain a mystery. The molecular simulations described herein suggest that transient binary internucleosomal interactions can mediate distant communication in chromatin. Electrostatic interactions between the N-terminal tails of the core histones and DNA enhance the computed probability of juxtaposition of sites that lie far apart along the DNA sequence. Experimental analysis of the rates of communication in chromatin constructs confirms that long-distance communication occurs efficiently and independently of distance on tail-containing, but not on tailless, chromatin. Taken together, our data suggest that internucleosomal interactions involving the histone tails are essential for highly efficient, long-range communication between regulatory elements and their targets in eukaryotic genomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Olga I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Kulaeva
authors.forename: Guohui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Yury S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Polikanov
authors.forename: Andrew V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Colasanti
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Clauvelin
authors.forename: Swagatam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.forename: Anirvan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sengupta
authors.forename: Vasily M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Studitsky
authors.forename: Wilma K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Olson
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D009707:Nucleosomes; D004247:DNA