Chromatin disruption and modification

Chromatin disruption and modification are associated with transcriptional r egulation by diverse coactivators and corepressors. Here we discuss the pos sible structural basis and functional consequences of the observed alterati ons in chromatin associated with transcriptional activation and repression. Recent advances in defining the roles of individual histones and their dom ains in the assembly and maintenance of regulatory architectures provide a framework for understanding how chromatin remodelling machines, histone ace tyltransferases and deacetylases function.