The purpose of this primer is to provide students, teachers as well as academic and industry researchers with a succinct account of the chemical and structural features of chromatin and the role that these features play in the maintenance and function of the genetic material.

It is universally accepted that DNA is the carrier of the genetic information that is transmitted from parents to their offspring and that it is responsible for the anatomy, physiology and behavior of all individuals throughout development and adult life. Yet, how this information is retrieved and used selectively to allow a fertilized egg to become an organism made up of myriads of different cells and tissues is not as evident and easily understood.

Dr Lucchesi, an internationally known researcher and teacher, provides an easily opened window into the role that the complex of proteins and nucleic acids that are associated with the DNA play in mediating gene expression and in responding to environmental circumstances.

Contents:

• Introduction


• The Genetic Basis of Biological Heredity


• The Basic Mechanism of Transcription


• Chromatin Structure


• Nuclear Organization


• How Does Transcription Occur in Chromatin?


• How Does DNA Replication Occur in Chromatin?


• How Does DNA Repair Occur in Chromatin?


• Chromatin Fate in Normal Development


• Stem Cells


• The Consequences of Chromatin Dysregulation: Non-malignant Pathologies


• The Consequences of Chromatin Dysregulation: Aging and Cancer


• Research Prospects

Readership: A wide range of readers: undergraduate, graduate and medical students, scientists in various academic, pharmaceutical or biotechnical disciplines; general public individuals with scientific curiosity and a desire to update their understanding of the principles of heredity.

Key Features:

• Genetics and epigenetics, the study of changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA, are highly complex biological areas whose current description is based on an extensive body of biochemical and biophysical observations. The need for a general understanding of these areas by a large segment of our society is not met by the currently available texts that are too specialized and require a substantial scientific background


• The present primer is designed to provide an introductory and basic comprehension of the mechanisms responsible for cellular differentiation and for the environmental modulation of the genetic information. It can also serve as a basis on which to build a deeper exploration of hereditary mechanisms