Data-Driven Simulation of Chromatin Structure and the Epigenetic Code

The interplay between epigenetic marks and chromatin structure is increasingly appreciated as crucial to biological function. However, the full features of chromatin organization in three dimensoins are not fully understood and are actively being investigated in both theory and experiment. Here we present a chromosome scale model to study the relationship between one-dimensional epigenetic sequences and three-dimensional chromatin structure. The sequence-structure relationship presents some similarities to conventional block copolymers, as described by previous models, but also departs from a purely synthetic polymer due to the overlapping and interacting nature of epigenetic marks and machinery. Understanding these unique features of the epigenetic code will be crutial to future diagnostic and therapeudic efforts to modulate chromatin organization by way of targeted epigenetic engineering.