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StemBook [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Harvard Stem Cell Institute; 2008-. doi: 10.3824/stembook.1.45.1
The basic unit of chromatin organization is the nucleosome, which comprises 147 bp of DNA wrapped around a core of histone proteins. Nucleosomes can be organized into higher order structures and the level of packaging can have profound consequences on all DNA-mediated processes including gene regulation. Euchromatin is associated with an open chromatin conformation and this structure is permissible for transcription whereas heterochromatin is more compact and refractory to factors that need to gain access to the DNA template. Nucleosome positioning and chromatin compaction can be influenced by a wide-range of processes including modification to both histones and DNA.
From: The chromatin signature of pluripotent cells
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