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Organization of interphase chromatin

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Abstract

The organization of interphase chromatin spans many topics, ranging in scale from the molecular level to the whole nucleus, and its study requires a concomitant range of experimental approaches. In this review, we examine these approaches, the results they have generated, and the interfaces between them. The greatest challenge appears to be the integration of information on whole nuclei obtained by light microscopy with data on nucleosome–nucleosome interactions and chromatin higher-order structures, obtained in vitro using biophysical characterization, atomic force microscopy, and electron microscopy. We consider strategies that may assist in the integration process, and we review emerging technologies that promise to reduce the “resolution gap.”

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Acknowledgement

We thank colleagues who shared recent unpublished data. Supported in part by National Institutes of Health (NIH) GM070897 to C.L.W.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department and Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Rachel A. Horowitz-Scherer & Christopher L. Woodcock

  2. Department of Biology, Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Christopher L. Woodcock

Authors
  1. Rachel A. Horowitz-Scherer
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  2. Christopher L. Woodcock
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher L. Woodcock.

Additional information

Communicated by E.A. Nigg

This article is dedicated to the memory of Hans Ris.

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Horowitz-Scherer, R.A., Woodcock, C.L. Organization of interphase chromatin. Chromosoma 115, 1–14 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-005-0035-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-005-0035-3

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