Publications by authors named "Nwamaka J Idigo"
Promoters of developmental genes in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are marked by histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) and H3K27me3 in an asymmetric nucleosomal conformation, with each sister histone H3 carrying only one of the two marks. These bivalent domains are thought to poise genes for timely activation upon differentiation. Here, we show that asymmetric bivalent nucleosomes recruit repressive H3K27me3 binders but fail to enrich activating H3K4me3 binders, thereby promoting a poised state.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetection and Quantification of Histone Methyltransferase Activity In Vitro.
Methods Mol Biol
June 2022
Histone methyltransferases (HMTs) catalyze the methylation of lysine and arginine residues in histone as well as nonhistone substrates. In vitro histone methyltransferase assays have been instrumental in identifying HMTs, and they continue to be invaluable tools for the study of these important enzymes, revealing novel substrates and modes of regulation.Here we describe a universal protocol to examine HMT activity in vitro that can be adapted to a range of HMTs, substrates, and experimental objectives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Zebrafish serve as effective models for studying human single-gene disorders due to their genetic manipulability and the ability to perform high throughput drug screening, although gene duplication can complicate results by masking phenotypes.
- Recent research indicates differing outcomes based on the methods used (gene editing vs. morpholino treatment) to create zebrafish mutant lines, particularly in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders linked to the human gene EEF1A2.
- The study identified four eef1a genes in zebrafish, revealing that while the eef1a2 gene's disruption does not affect lifespan, it could be a useful system for investigating the impacts of mutant human EEF1A2 mRNA.