Muscling into chromatin: role for myosin and actin in chromatin remodeling

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Actin and myosin are force-generating molecules that have many important functions in cell mobility and cell shape. Over the last few years, it has become clear that these factors also have roles in the nucleus and are important cofactors for transcription. What these proteins do in the nucleus precisely and how they exert their function is largely an enigma. Actin and actin-related proteins are stable components of several chromatin remodeling factors. We will study what is the link between myosin and actin-containing chromatin remodeling factors in transcription regulation, DNA replication and repair. Our hypothesis is that myosin targets remodeling factors in response to environmental signals to control chromatin shape and position. We will combine yeast genetics with genome-wide binding maps to analyze the role of myosin in nuclear processes. We will use chromosome conformation capture technology and live cell imaging to map how the myosin-actin interaction dynamically shapes chromosomes in the living cell. We will study how the interaction between myosin and chromatin is regulated. Initially, these studies will be done in yeast, but if successful, we will test principles in mammalian cells in culture.

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