Jenuwein Lab Profile

Research Focus: Epigenetic Control by Histone Methylation

In eukaryotes, both epigenetic control of gene regulation and the functional organization of chromosomes depend on higher-order chromatin organization. Within the last three years, great progress has been made in understanding the functional implications of histone methylation, in particular through the characterization of histone methyltransferases (HMTases) that direct the site-specific methylation of lysines located within the histone H3 N-terminus. Thus, histone lysine methylation has emerged as a central epigenetic modification in the organization of eukaryotic chromatin with far-reaching implications for the regulation of cell proliferation, cell-type differentiation, overall development, gene expression, genome stability, and the genesis of cancer.