Forever hopeful relations: chromatin, telomeres and checkpoints

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe A relationship between chromatin, telomeres and DNA-damage checkpoints seems inevitable. Chromatin packages the entire genome and must

therefore be the context in which telomere synthesis and recognition of DNA damage by checkpoints occurs. In fact, chromatin-associated proteins such as Rap1 mediate telomere function1,

although how they do so remains unclear. Less is known about how chromatin affects DNA repair and checkpoint controls. And, for telomere-checkpoint interactions, it is unclear why telomeres

avoid being recognized as DNA damage; one wonders if telomeres are masked by unique chromatin structure. Understanding the relationships between chromatin, telomeres and checkpoints

resembles the daunting task of understanding relationships between relatives experienced during the holidays; interactions are inevitable, but outcomes are often unpredictable and, to the

casual observer, incomprehensible. Our understanding of telomere-chromatin-checkpoint relationships, however, is slowly emerging, especially the telomere-chromatin interactions2,3. New clues

to relations between chromatin, telomeres and checkpoints are now reported by Yves Corda, Vera Schramke and colleagues in this issue of _Nature Genetics_4. This is a preview of subscription

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references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85721, Arizona, USA Ted Weinert * Department of

Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston , 77030, Texas, USA Victoria Lundblad Authors * Ted Weinert View author publications You can also search

for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Victoria Lundblad View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and

permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Weinert, T., Lundblad, V. Forever hopeful relations: chromatin, telomeres and checkpoints. _Nat Genet_ 21, 151–152 (1999).

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