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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jun 27.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Genet. 2012 Apr 3;13(5):343–357. doi: 10.1038/nrg3173

Figure 1. Models for inheritance of histone methylation marks.

Figure 1

a) Semiconservative replication of histones (and their marks). The half of the histone octamer, which is inherited (and therefore appropriately marked), could inform the cell machinery to mark the newly added histone proteins. b) Entire histone octamers are segregated to each of the daughter strands in alternating fashion and the newly synthesized histones could be informed by the neighboring parental histone marks. c) DNA methylation acts as a signal to methylate specific new histones. d) Deposition of histones containing pre-existing modifications. Previously labeled free histones could be recruited to important sites where an epigenetic memory is needed and integrated into newly synthesized DNA.