Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Portella G
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3836855 | biostudies-literature | 2013
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Portella Guillem G Battistini Federica F Orozco Modesto M
PLoS computational biology 20131121 11
Cytosine methylation is one of the most important epigenetic marks that regulate the process of gene expression. Here, we have examined the effect of epigenetic DNA methylation on nucleosomal stability using molecular dynamics simulations and elastic deformation models. We found that methylation of CpG steps destabilizes nucleosomes, especially when these are placed in sites where the DNA minor groove faces the histone core. The larger stiffness of methylated CpG steps is a crucial factor behind ...[more]