CHROMATIN SELF-ORGANIZATION BY MUTATION BIAS

Proteins, on binding to a DNA sequence, alter the frequency and qualit y of mutations that occur in the sequence. This represents a reverse f low of information from proteins to DNA. Nucleosome binding causes pat terns of UV-induced damage which, when converted to mutations by repli cation, will phase nucleosomes. We propose that DNA binding proteins c reate their own high- or low-affinity binding sites along DNA sequence s by biased mutational pressure.