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Abstract
The surface of nucleosomes is studded with a multiplicity of modifications. At least
eight different classes have been characterized to date and many different sites have
been identified for each class. Operationally, modifications function either by disrupting
chromatin contacts or by affecting the recruitment of nonhistone proteins to chromatin.
Their presence on histones can dictate the higher-order chromatin structure in which
DNA is packaged and can orchestrate the ordered recruitment of enzyme complexes to
manipulate DNA. In this way, histone modifications have the potential to influence
many fundamental biological processes, some of which may be epigenetically inherited.