Summary Specific sites of histone tail methylation are associated with transcriptional activity at gene loci. These methyl-marks are interpreted by effector molecules, which harbor protein domains that bind the methylated motifs and facilitate either active or inactive states of transcription. CARM1 and PRMT1 are transcriptional coactivators that deposit H3R17me2a and H4R3me2a marks, respectively. We used a protein domain microarray approach to identify the tudor domain-containing protein TDRD3 as a “reader” of these marks. Importantly, TDRD3 itself is a transcriptional coactivator. This coactivator activity requires an intact tudor domain. TDRD3 is recruited to an estrogen responsive element in a CARM1-dependent manner. Furthermore, ChIP-seq analysis of TDRD3 reveals that it is predominantly localized to transcriptional start sites. Thus, TDRD3 is an effector molecule that promotes transcription by binding methylarginine marks on histone tails.

Nuclei isolated from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells at various times during the G1 phase of the cell cycle were stimulated to enter S phase by incubation in Xenopus egg cytosol. Replication of DNA initiated within the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) origin locus in nuclei isolated late in G1, but at random sites in nuclei isolated early in G1. A discrete transition point occurred 3 to 4 hours after metaphase. Neither replication licensing nor nuclear assembly was sufficient for origin recognition. Thus, a distinct cell cycle-regulated event in the nucleus restricts the initiation of replication to specific sites downstream of the DHFR gene.

The fate of parental nucleosomes during chromatin replication was studied in vitro using in vitro assembled chromatin containing the whole SV40 genome as well as salt‐treated and native SV40 minichromosomes. In vitro assembled minichromosomes were able to replicate efficiently in vitro, when the DNA was preincubated with T‐antigen, a cytosolic S100 extract and three deoxynucleoside triphosphates prior to chromatin assembly, indicating that the origin has to be free of nucleosomes for replication initiation. The chromatin structure of the newly synthesized daughter strands in replicating molecules was analysed by psoralen cross‐linking of the DNA and by micrococcal nuclease digestion. A 5‐ and 10‐fold excess of protein‐free competitor DNA present during minichromosome replication traps the segregating histones. In opposition to published data this suggests that the parental histones remain only loosely or not attached to the DNA in the region of the replication fork. Replication in the putative absence of free histones shows that a subnucleosomal particle is randomly assembled on the daughter strands. The data are compatible with the formation of a H3/H4 tetramer complex under these conditions, supporting the notion that under physiological conditions nucleosome core assembly on the newly synthesized daughter strands occurs by the binding of H2A/H2B dimers to a H3/H4 tetramer complex.

Self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) have emerged as effective carrier transport layers in perovskite (PVK) solar cells because of their unique ability to manipulate interfacial property, as well as simple processing and scalable fabrication. However, the defects and pinholes derived from their sensitive adsorption process inevitably deteriorate the final device performance. Herein, a sputtered nickel oxide (NiOx) interlayer is used as a seed layer to promote the adsorption of the [2‐(3,6‐dimethoxy‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (MeO‐2PACz) SAM on the indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The promoted adsorption is attributed to the enhanced tridentate binding between MeO‐2PACz and NiOx relative to the conventional bidentate binding between MeO‐2PACz and ITO. In addition, the NiOx modification can simultaneously improve the passivation ability and hole‐selectivity of the MeO‐2PACz, provide a favorable energy‐level alignment at the ITO/PVK interface, and prevent a direct contact between PVK and ITO. As a consequence, this NiOx‐seeded MeO‐2PACz hole transport layer enables a significantly enhanced power conversion efficiency of 19.9% in comparison with 18.4% of the control device. This work provides an effective strategy to improve the performance of the SAM‐based photoelectric device.