4/14 – Jeff Wereszczynsk, IIT
CBQB Seminar (hybrid event)
April 14, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
This is an in-person event in room COMRB 5175 on west campus (directions). You can also watch seminar live here>>
Speaker:
Jeff Wereszczynski, PhD.
Professor
Department of Physics, Illinois Institute of Technology
Title: Unraveling Nucleosome Dynamics with Atomic-Scale Insights into Modifications and Gene Expression
Abstract: The regulation of gene expression hinges on a complex interplay between chromatin structure and the dynamic behavior of nucleosomes, which are composed of DNA wrapped around histone proteins. While the structural impacts of nucleosome modifications are increasingly well-characterized, their influence on nucleosome dynamics remains less explored. In this talk, I will present our recent work utilizing molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how modifications to the nucleosome impact its structural and dynamic properties at atomic resolution. Specifically, I will discuss how the flexibility and dynamics of histone H3 tails are modulated by changes in nucleosome composition, how the addition of a ubiquitin moiety alters DNA compaction and nucleosome stability, and how viral nucleosome-like particles create destabilized DNA structures. Our findings offer new insights into how nucleosome modifications, from minor to substantial, serve as mechanisms for controlling gene expression by altering nucleosome architecture and dynamics.
Date posted
Apr 4, 2025
Date updated
Apr 4, 2025