title: Chromatin higher-order structure and dynamics.
abstract: The primary role of the nucleus as an information storage, retrieval, and replication site requires the physical organization and compaction of meters of DNA. Although it has been clear for many years that nucleosomes constitute the first level of chromatin compaction, this contributes a relatively small fraction of the condensation needed to fit the typical genome into an interphase nucleus or set of metaphase chromosomes, indicating that there are additional "higher order" levels of chromatin condensation. Identifying these levels, their interrelationships, and the principles that govern their occurrence has been a challenging and much discussed problem. In this article, we focus on recent experimental advances and the emerging evidence indicating that structural plasticity and chromatin dynamics play dominant roles in genome organization. We also discuss novel approaches likely to yield important insights in the near future, and suggest research areas that merit further study.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. chris@bio.umass.edu
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Woodcock
authors.forename: Rajarshi P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000737:chemistry; D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin
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