The EpiScope Nucleosome PreparationKit is designed for the preparation of nucleosomes from cultured mammalian cells. DNAis extracted from the prepared nucleosomes and analyzed using real-time PCR or sequencing to map nucleosome positions.

Nucleosomes are the constituent units of chromatin in eukaryotic nuclei, consisting of genomic DNA wrapped around a core histone complex (Clark 2010). Nucleosomes are not spaced at regular intervals on genomic DNA; instead,their positions aredependent on chromatin structure and transcriptional regulation (Dutta and Workman 2012). In DNA methylation analysis, an important area inepigenetics research, nucleosome positioning has become a subject of intense interest. In transcriptionally active genes, the promoter region is free of nucleosomes,permitting the binding of transcriptional initiation factors (TIFs). Conversely, DNA methylationwithingene promoter regions leads to the formation of nucleosomes in those regions, preventing the binding of TIFs andsuppressing transcriptional initiation.