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Large-Scale Chromatin Structure

  • Chapter
Genome Structure and Function

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASHT,volume 31))

Abstract

Analysis of cellular ultrastructure currently is seriously handicapped by the lack of structural tools capable of visualizing macromolecular assemblies and organelles which extend over large subcellular volumes. This problem is particularly severe with regard to structural dissection of chromosome architecture in which a hierarchy of folding motifs give rise to linear compaction ratios tens of thousands to one for mitotic chromosomes and hundreds or thousands to one for interphase chromatids. Whereas analysis of the highest levels of chromosome folding requires tracing individual chromatids over at least several um distances, analysis of the lowest levels of chromatin folding requires a resolution of at least several nm. In practice, because of the extremely high DNA packing ratios, these different levels of chromosome folding are not easily isolated for separate, sequential structural determination. This is particularly true for mitotic chromosomes, in which the several nm spatial separation between larger units of chromatin folding is comparable to the spacing between lower levels of chromatin folding contained within these larger domains. Therefore direct identification within native chromosomes of structural motifs underlying the highest level of chromosome folding may first require the unambiguous tracing of the lower levels of chromatin folding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign B107 Chemical and Life Sciences Building 601 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    A. S. Belmont

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  1. A. S. Belmont
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biophysics, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Claudio Nicolini

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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Belmont, A.S. (1997). Large-Scale Chromatin Structure. In: Nicolini, C. (eds) Genome Structure and Function. NATO ASI Series, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5550-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5550-2_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6338-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5550-2

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