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heterochromatin
That part of the chromatin that remains tightly coiled & condensed during interphase, thus stains easily. Most of genome occurs as transcriptionally inactive condensed chromatin of the type found in pericentromeric heterochromatin regions which is heavily methylated. DNA in the transcriptionally silent regions is packaged into compacted nucleosomes containing deacetylated histones, in particular deacetylated histone H3. Proteins contributing to transcriptionally repressed state include histone deacetylases & heterochromatin protein 1 homolog alpha
Related
DNA methylation (promoter methylation)
Specific
constitutive heterochromatin
facultative heterochromatin
General
chromatin
Properties
COMPARTMENT: cell nucleus
References
- Stedman's Medical Dictionary 26th ed, Williams &
Wilkins, Baltimore, 1995
- Jones & Baylin, Nature Reviews Genetics 3:415-28, 2002
Components
chromosome