April 20, 2023
How 'master regulators' of cells make DNA accessible for gene expression
New research into proteins called “pioneer factors,” led by Ohio State physics professor Michael Poirier and former graduate student Ben Donovan in collaboration with researchers at Penn State University, helps to explain these proteins' unusual ability to open up the typically dense genetic material within our cells. The study used a unique combination of structural biology, biophysics, and cell biology to understand how these “master regulators” of the genome interact with nucleosomes — the basic unit of the genome in all eukaryotic cells, which range from yeast to humans.
