HISMOD21 · Histone modifications and DNA methylation mapping on the entire Human Chromosome 21

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Project objective

As the sequencing of the human genome nears completion, the challenge that faces the scientific community is to decipher the underlying meaning behind these precisely ordered nucleotides. To exploit the vast amount of information now available from the hum an genome sequencing effort, new strategies focused on understanding gene regulation are being developed. One excellent model for these studies is the Human Chromosome 21 (HC21). This chromosome is the smallest auto-some and for this reason, and its clinical relevance in Trisomy 21, is probably the most well-studied chromosome. HC21 has been at the forefront of genomics research in the development of genetic and physical maps, sequencing, gene identification and characterization, and gene expression. In the nucleus of all eukaryotic cells, DNA is highly folded, constrained and compacted by histone proteins in a polymer called chromatin, itself rearranged in the final compacted chromosome. This structure is dynamic and participates in many different fundament al processes of the cell. In recent years it has become clear that chromatin function is extensively modulated by epigenetic modifications, which proceed primarily in the amino-terminal tails of histones and in methylation events of DNA sequence. In our p roject we aim to identify Histones and DNA modifications associated with HC21 transcriptional activity, in a large-scale fashion, using the new exciting ChIP-on-chip approach. This technology has begun to provide insights into the genome-wide study of cell s transcriptional programs, by combining the technique of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) with hybridization to DNA micro-arrays (chip). In this way, we will establish a precise correlation between epigenetic features and gene expression on the whole h uman chromosome 21. Our project apprehends globally HC21 activity and will offer, at scientific community's disposal, a huge structure/function analysis of an entire human chromosome.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• FACULTE DE MEDECINE - GENEVA UNIVERSITYCoordinatorCity levelSwitzerland

Links

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