Epigenetics and Post-Translational Modifications
The N-terminal tail of histone H3 protrudes from the globular nucleosome core and can undergo several different types of post-translational modification that influence cellular processes. These modifications include the covalent attachment of methyl or acetyl groups to lysine and arginine amino acids and the phosphorylation of serine or threonine. Di- and Tri-methylation of Lysine 9 are associated with repression and heterochromatin, while mono-methylation of K9 is associated with active genes. has been associated with gene silencing and the formation of relatively inactive regions of DNA known as heterochromatin. Acetylation of histone H3 occurs at several different lysine positions in the histone tail and is performed by a family of enzymes known as histone acetyltransferases (HATs). Acetylation of lysine14 is commonly seen in genes that are being actively transcribed into RNA.
Read more about this topic: Histone H3