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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Feb 7.
Published in final edited form as: Neuroendocrinology. 2019 Feb 7;109(3):208–217. doi: 10.1159/000497745

Figure 2: Chromatin structure and the epigenetic code.

Figure 2:

Heterochromatin is a tightly packed combination of DNA and histone octamers that is associated with less active gene transcription. Euchromatin is less condensed and associated with active gene transcription. Epigenetic writers (brown hexagons) modify the amino acid residues of histone tails, building the histone code at DNA regulatory regions. Epigenetic readers (blue semi-circles) bind to these epigenetic marks and help recruit transcription factors and other epigenetic modifiers. Epigenetic erasers (yellow circles) catalyze the removal of epigenetic marks. The balance of these enzymatic pathways, and thus the balance between hetero and euchromatin, is what renders a gene in active or silent state.