Biological Chemistry

Molecular Biochemistry

Introduction

Functions of eukaryotic genes are governed by the structure of chromatin consisting of genome DNA and histones and also by the interaction of chromatin with structures in the cell nucleus. These gene regulation mechanisms are called as “Epigenetics”. Epigenetics is responsible for various biological phenomena, including cell development, differentiation, senescence, cancer, diseases. Recently, epigenetics is tried to apply also to the field of agriculture. For example, epigenetic mechanisms are investigated to improve production of agricultural organisms and to evaluate functions of food ingredients in human health. We have investigated epigenetic mechanisms through analyzing nuclear actin family proteins and histone variants.

URL

https://www.harata-lab.org/

Keywords

Epigenetics, Genome, Chromatin, Histone, Actin, DNA repair, Ribosome, Cell nucleus, Nuclear envelope, Aging/Rejuvenation

Staff