Epigenetics: Helping cells to remember.

The article evaluates a research entitled "Epigenetic memory of an active gene state depends on histone H3.3 incorporation into chromatin in the absence of transcription," by R. K. Ng and J. B. Gurdon. The study demonstrates that histone H3.3 is required for the persistence of some active gene states. Authors of the study conclude that the stable inheritance of cellular memory might provide an explanation for the decreasing success of nuclear transfer from more differentiated donor cell nuclei.