Lukas Dorian Dittiger, Juliane Kühne, Christian Müller, Jan Schirawski
Post-translational modification of histone tails can change the complete gene expression profile of an organism. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a technique that can be used to identify genomic regions wrapped around modified histones. Specifically, histones and their bound DNA are co-immunoprecipitated with antibodies targeting histones carrying a defined modification. Subsequent analysis of the associated genomic regions allows the identification of genes and regulatory elements marked by histones carrying this specific modification thereby providing insights into a genome-wide regulatory mechanism of gene expression. This chapter describes the experimental setup and provides a detailed protocol for performing chromatin immunoprecipitation in Ustilago maydis or related smut fungi.