Histone methylation marks associate with chromatin compaction status
Active chromatin or euchromatin is associated with a more open status and is characterized by several types of histone methylation marks as depicted. On the other hand, silent chromatin or heterochromatin is associated with closed and compacted status, also characterized by a subset of histone methylation patterns as depicted. JmjC enzymes can thus, in principle, control chromatin status by removing the histone methyl groups.