The packaging of chromatin plays a vital role in the ability of the genes to be accessible or inaccessible to transcription which leads to expression or prevention of protein formation. Acetylation decreases the DNA-histone interaction allowing the chromatin to become euchromatin or transcriptionally active DNA. GCN5, ESA1, and CHD1 are three proteins that are involved in this process. GCN5 and ESA1 are histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and CHD1 is a bromodomain containing protein that is recruited to sites of acetylation. Tetrahymena thermophila are the ideal organism to study chromatin packaging because they contain a macronucleus and micronucleus that separate acetylation and transcription. It has been shown that chromatin modification can also allow access for DNA repair mechanisms. This research specifically focuses on GCN5, CHD1, and ESA1’s function in Tetrahymena in chromatin regulation and DNA repair. The characterization of these proteins in Tetrahymena will allow for a better understanding of their exact role in DNA repair and genome stability. An interesting phenotype of GCN5 overexpression has been observed when cells are under starved conditions and was also studied in this research.