
Concept explainers
Although histone modifications can activate or silence genes, these covalent alterations are made to protein molecules involved in nucleosome structure and not to the DNA carrying the activated or silenced allele. If the fixed pattern of active and silenced alleles is to be carried through multiple cell divisions, would you expect the histone modifications to be in cis or trans to the affected alleles? Why?
Hint: This problem involves an understanding of how many copies of each histone are contained in a nucleosome and of the spatial relationship between the histones and the DNA wound around the nucleosome.

To determine: The presence of cis or trans histone modifications in the affected alleles in several cell divisions.
Introduction: The mutation is the change in the nucleotide sequence of the gene, which result in either the formation of a defective protein or no protein at all. The mutation can also alter the regulation of certain genes leading to their hyperactivity or hypoactivity.
Explanation of Solution
The activation of the gene can only take place when the chromatin that contains the gene and its respective regulatory regions to be present in the “open state.” Similarly, for the silencing of the gene, the chromatin containing the gene and its regulatory regions need to be present in a closed state. When these chromatin structures undergo and persist through several cell divisions, the histones that are present in the immediate proximity of the gene, that is cis state will be carrying the histone modifications.
The gene in the chromatin will have to be in a cis state to carry the histone modifications under multiple cell divisions.
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Chapter 19 Solutions
Concepts of Genetics (12th Edition)
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