Nuclear Organization, Chromatin Structure, and Gene Expression

This is one of the first books on emerging concepts about the role of the structure of chromatin, the organization of the genome, and the structure of the interphase nucleus in the control of gene expression in eukaryotes. The first section analyzes the relationship between gene expression and the dynamic chromatin structure at the nucleosome level. Section two looks into higher order chromatin structure in relation to transcription. The final section covers the molecular basis of epigenetic phenomena, like X-chromosome inactivation, starting from our knowledge of chromatin structure. Together these topics form the molecular basis for our understanding of cell differentiation, knowledge essential for the design of transgenic animals and plants and for gene therapy in humans. This book will be of direct interest to students and researchers in molecular and cell biology, providing them with essential tools for work on fundamental problems in transgenics and gene therapy. A number of human disorders may turn out to be caused by genetic or somatic errors at this level of gene control, making this field of central importance.