p300 Core Domain

Characteristics

Targeted gene activation through histone modification. Creates active enhancer-like chromatin states. More durable activation than transcriptional activators alone. Large domain (~1000 amino acids). Particularly effective for activating developmental genes. Can activate genes from enhancers or promoters.

Mechanism: Catalyzes acetylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27ac) and other histone residues. Creates active chromatin marks associated with enhancers and promoters. Acetylation opens chromatin structure and recruits transcriptional machinery.

References

1. Hilton et al. (2015). Epigenome editing by a CRISPR-Cas9-based acetyltransferase activates genes from promoters and enhancers. Nat Biotechnol - Hilton 2015 p300