title: How to rule the nucleus: divide et impera.
abstract: Genome-wide molecular studies have provided new insights into the organization of nuclear chromatin by revealing the presence of chromatin domains of differing transcriptional activity, frequency of cis-interactions, proximity to scaffolding structures and replication timing. These studies have not only brought our understanding of genome function to a new level, but also offered functional insight for many phenomena observed in microscopic studies. In this review, we discuss the major principles of nuclear organization based on the spatial segregation of euchromatin and heterochromatin, as well as the dynamic genome rearrangements occurring during cell differentiation and development. We hope to unite the existing molecular and microscopic data on genome organization to get a holistic view of the nucleus, and propose a model, in which repeat repertoire together with scaffolding structures blueprint the functional nuclear architecture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany. Electronic address: irina.solovei@lrz.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Solovei
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thanisch
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany; Department of Medical Biology, Medical University-Plovdiv, Boulevard Vasil Aprilov 15A, Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Yana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feodorova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D022041:Euchromatin / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D022041:Euchromatin; D006570:Heterochromatin