Chromatin Architecture and Human Health: Chromosomes, Chromatin and Genomic Stability

Our DNA gets wrapped into a highly compact structure with the help of proteins. This structure is commonly referred to as Chromatin, which during cell division takes the shape of chromosomes. This book is a collection of various articles I and many of my collaborators have authored together. Besides discussing how the DNA gets assembled into chromatin, and how different factors regulate the dynamic nature of chromatin, these articles also discuss how chromatin behaves when DNA is damaged and repaired. Readers will also learn how transcription is regulated at the chromatin level. We often hear that if our DNA is damaged, it will cause a disease. It is true, but the manifestation of any DNA damage in a disease will depend on the context of the DNA that is damaged. Luckily the bulk of our DNA is non-coding and non-regulatory in nature, so we hardly feel the effect of these mutations, which happen daily. However, if it happens in the coding and the regulatory sequences it may or may not cause a disease. In this scenario, it will depend on the nature of the mutation and how severely it impacts gene expression and protein structure. Nature has provided us with all kinds of safety gear when it comes to protecting the most precious cargo of our cells, the DNA. Thus, there are various repair pathways to deal with different types of damage but at the same time, DNA damage tolerance mechanisms tolerate some damage in order to avoid bigger catastrophe. The stability of our DNA is also threatened by the transposable elements. But again nature has provided us means to safeguard against these elements. This book has attempted to cover all these fascinating aspects of our genome. I am hopeful that the readers will enjoy reading these articles and enhance their knowledge of the molecule that the existence of the whole living world depends on. Our DNA gets wrapped into a highly compact structure with the help of proteins. This structure is commonly referred to as Chromatin, which during cell division takes the shape of chromosomes. This book is a collection of various articles I and many of my collaborators have authored together.