title: A molecular take on Aesop's The oak and the reeds.
abstract: Ngo et al. use single-molecule methods to show that DNA can be more readily displaced from one side of a nucleosome relative to the other side. This unexpected mechanical asymmetry may offer a path of least resistance, allowing RNA polymerases to traverse nucleosomes if they approach from the correct direction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, 650 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Corentin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Moevus
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, 650 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, 650 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: ecg2108@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Greene
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009707:Nucleosomes; D004247:DNA