Dynamic chromatin: concerted nucleosome remodelling and acetylation

The flexibility of chromatin that enables translation of environmental cues into changes in genome utilisation, relies on a battery of enzymes able to modulate chromatin structure in a highly targeted and regulated manner. The most dynamic structural changes are brought about by two kinds of enzymes with different functional principles. Changes in the acetylation status of histones modulate the folding of the nucleosomal fibre. The histone-DNA interactions that define the nucleosome itself can be disrupted by ATP-dependent remodelling factors. This review focuses on recent developments that illustrate various strategies for integrating these disparate activities into complex regulatory schemes. Synergies may be brought about by consecutive or parallel action during the stepwise process of chromatin opening or closing. Tight co-ordination may be achieved by direct interaction of (de-)acetylation enzymes and remodelling ATPases or even permanent residence within the same multi-enzyme complex. The fact that remodelling ATPases can be acetylated by histone acetyltransferases themselves suggests exciting possibilities for the coordinate modulation of chromatin structure and remodelling enzymes

The Intergenerational Dynamics of Social Inequality a Empirical Evidence from Europe and the United States

Based on nationally representative data from the German Socio-Economic Panel SOEP the Panel Study of Income Dynamics PSID and the British Household Panel Survey BHPS we analyze the intergenerational transmission of economic and social dis- advantages in Germany the United States and Great Britain We test with the hypotheses that the extent and the determinants of intergenerational income mobility and the relative risk of poverty differ with respect to the existing welfare state regime family role patterns and social policy design The empirical results indicate a higher intergenerational income elasticity in the United States than in Germany and Great Britain and country differences concerning the influence of individual and parental socio-economic characteristics and social exclusion attributes on intergenerational income mobility and the relative risk of povert

The intergenerational transmission of occupational preferences, segregation, and wage inequality: Empirical evidence from three countries

Based on longitudinal data (CNEF 1980-2010) the paper analyzes the structuring effects of individual and family background characteristics on occupational preferences, and the influence of occupational segregation on gender wage differentials in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Notwithstanding the country differences concerning welfare state regimes, institutional settings of the labor markets, and family role patterns, the results confirm the hypotheses of the intergenerational transmission of occupational status, and occupational segregation. The decomposition analysis shows that gender wage differentials are mainly determined by structural differences in the occupational distribution