First detailed picture of a cancer-related cell enzyme in action on a chromosome unit

(Penn State) New insight into the function of an enzyme related to the BRCA1 breast-cancer protein is published in this week's issue of Nature. The study produced the first detailed working image of an enzyme in a group that is associated with many types of cancer. The researchers obtained the first crystal structure of a gene-regulation enzyme working on a nucleosome. The image reveals previously unknown information about how the enzyme attaches to its nucleosome target.