Chromatin fine structure of active and repressed genes

Abstract

Micrococcal nuclease digestion was used to compare the structures of actively transcribing and inert chromatin of the genes coding for the major heat-shock protein of Drosophila melanogaster. The repressed hsp 70 genes were considerably more resistant to cleavage by micrococcal nuclease than their flanking regions and the bulk of chromatin. The active genes, previously shown to be more sensitive than the repressed genes, are also more susceptible to the nuclease than their 3''-flanking regions and bulk chromatin.