Probing the chromatin assembly pathway

Spooling of DNA around histones to form nucleosomes forms the basis of chromosome structure and is fundamental to all processes that require access to genetic material, as well as maintaining genomic integrity. Central to this process is the synthesis and delivery of histone proteins at a rate that equals DNA replication. I aim to understand the histone chaperoning pathway that has evolved to meet this need at the molecular and systems level.

I am developing and using pulse-chase approaches to define the order of binding events in the histone chaperoning pathway. I am using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the interaction between two central histone chaperoning proteins and their histone cargo.

These investigations will help delineate the multiple binding events and conformational changes that have to occur in the histone chaperoning pathway to provide mature, deposition-competent histones for DNA replication.