Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was first developed in Drosophila, where interactions of RNA Pol II with genes were investigated (Mol. Cell. Biol. August 1985 vol. 5 no. 8 2009-2018). Then, in a 1993 publication, (Genes & Dev. 1993 7:592-604), the group of James Broach described the association of histone acetylation state with transcriptional gene silencing in yeast. The technique was first used successfully in mammalian cells by Richard Treisman's group, published in 1998 (Cell (1998) 92:475-87).

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation is used to link specific states of chromatin to individual loci in a cell, to understand how genes are regulated, and to decipher the Histone Code. In this Episode, we discuss the multiple challenges of ChIP experiments and the difficulties that can arise during different steps of the process.

Epigenetics News:

• Chung-Chau Hon, Jordan A. Ramilowski, … Alistair R. R. Forrest. An atlas of human long non-coding RNAs with accurate 5′ ends. Nature. March 2017. doi:10.1038/nature21374

Multiple Challenges in ChIP

• D. S. Gilmour, J. T. Lis. In vivo interactions of RNA polymerase II with genes of Drosophila melanogaster. Molecular and Cellular Biology. August 1985. doi:10.1128/MCB.5.8.2009

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