Much of the effort in the past has focused on mapping the human genome and attempting to associate particular genes with particular proteins and their function. However, the chromosome also contains significant protein structure embedded in nucleosomes that appear periodically in the DNA chain and are surrounded by about 150 bases. Inside the nucleosomes are a series of basic proteins of 11-15 kD in Mw that are subject to modification. Functional groups on these proteins can be methylated, acetylated, phosphorylated, or ubiquitinated, in at least some cases dynamically. The exact effect of these modifications ("histone code") is not fully understood, but is associated with regulation of transcription. Developing proteomics techniques will make it possible to analyze the histones for these modifications provided that sufficient histone, associated with a particular gene, can be provided. The technique described here is designed to provide sufficient material for this purpose.

File Number: KUCR # 2006 FY 18 

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