Question

Researchers noted that when a lysine residue on a histone is acetylated, its side chain becomes neutral in charge. Combined with the information in the passage, which of the following conclusions will the researchers most likely reach?

A. Histone deacetylation generally decreases gene expression.

B. Histone acetylation tends to promote a more condensed chromatin structure.

C. Histone deacetylation reduces the extent to which the gene in question will be replicated.

Answer 1

The correct answer is A) Histone deacetylation generally decreases gene expression.

Step-by-step explanation:

Histones are the proteins that are responsible for the condensation of chromatin, which is directly linked to the capacity that a gene has to be expressed. The more condensed a gene is, the less expressible it becomes.

In order to regulate the gene expression, histones can suffer from many modifications that can change their conformation and the expressiveness of specific genes.

Histone acetylation is linked with an increase of gene expression; while deacetylation and methylation decrease gene expression.