EMBO Member

Thomas Jenuwein

MPI für Immunbiologie und Epigenetik, Freiburg | Germany

EMBO 2002

Epigenetic control by histone lysine methylation

Epigenetic mechanisms control eukaryotic development beyond DNA-stored information. We discovered the first histone lysine methyltransferase and then showed that histone lysine methylation represents a central epigenetic modification in eukaryotic chromatin. We are continuing with our analyses on histone lysine methylation to further dissect epigenetic gene regulation and to identify molecular pathways that initiate and maintain heterochromatic domains in mammalian chromatin.

Keywords: Chromatin research / histone methyltransferases / histone modifications / heterochromatin formation / epigenetic control of gene expression

Subject area(s): Chromatin & Transcription | Development