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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2007, p. 1271-1279, Vol. 27, No. 4
0270-7306/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.01684-06

Distinctive Signatures of Histone Methylation in Transcribed Coding and Noncoding Human ß-Globin Sequences ^,

AeRi Kim,^1,* Christine M. Kiefer,^2, and Ann Dean^2*

Department of Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Pusan 609-735, South Korea,¹ Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, NIDDK, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892²

Received 8 September 2006/ Returned for modification 19 October 2006/ Accepted 30 November 2006

The establishment of epigenetic marks, such as methylation on histone tails, is mechanistically linked to RNA polymerase II within active genes. To explore the interplay between these modifications in transcribed noncoding as well as coding sequences, we analyzed epigenetic modification and chromatin structure at high resolution across 300 kb of human chromosome 11, including the ß-globin locus which is extensively transcribed in intergenic regions. Monomethylated H3K4, K9, and K36 were broadly distributed, while hypermethylated forms appeared to different extents across the region in a manner reflecting transcriptional activity. The trimethylation of H3K4 and H3K9 correlated within the most highly transcribed sequences. The H3K36me3 mark was more broadly detected in transcribed coding and noncoding sequences, suggesting that K36me3 is a stable mark on sequences transcribed at any level. Most epigenetic and chromatin structural features did not undergo transitions at the presumed borders of the globin domain where the insulator factor CTCF interacts, raising questions about the function of the borders.

Published ahead of print on 11 December 2006.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://mcb.asm.org/.

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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