The fundamental unit of chromatin, called a nucleosome, contains DNA wound around a protein octamer. This octamer consists of two copies each of four histone proteins: H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. Each one of these proteins has a tail extension, and these tails are the targets of nucleosome modification by methylation. DNA activation or inactivation is largely dependent on the specific tail residue methylated and its degree of methylation. Histones can be methylated on lysine (K) and arginine (R) residues only, but methylation is most commonly observed on lysine residues of histone tails H3 and H4. The tail end furthest from the nucleosome core is the N-terminal (residues are numbered starting at this end). Common sites of methylation associated with gene activation include H3K4, H3K48, and H3K79. Common sites for gene inactivation include H3K9 and H3K27. Studies of these sites have found that methylation of histone tails at different residues serve as markers for the recruitment of various proteins or protein complexes that serve to regulate chromatin activation or inactivation.