Chromatin Structure and Domains

In the cell nucleus, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is associated with nuclear proteins called histones to form chromatin. According to the type of factors that bind it, chromatin is organised into different subdomains.

Chromatin structure is essential to compact DNA but it is also crucial for the proper development of multicellular organisms. Indeed, it is a highly organised structure through which, genetic material is modulated to regulate nuclear processes, including transcription, replication and DNA repair. It is notably regulated via reversible covalent histone modifications. These multiple modifications deposited on chromatin by different histone modifying enzymes, serve as specific recognition signal for DNA-regulating proteins. More recently, spatial organisation of chromosomes in the nucleus has been identified as a critical feature for chromatin regulation, contributing in the fine tuning of transcription regulation, a major issue of cell differentiation and maintenance of cell identity during development.

Key Concepts:

  • Chromatin is a highly structured entity with an important flexibility.
  • The large repertoire of epigenetic modifications offers a wide range of specific molecular and cellular responses.
  • Together with genetic information, epigenetic marks play a critical role in the transmission of gene regulation.
  • Nuclear organisation of chromosomes participates in the inheritance of chromatin states.

Keywords: histones; nucleosomes; chromatin; chromosomes; nuclear organisation

Figure 1. Schematic representation of the different post-translational modifications identified on histones. Methylation is marked in red, acetylation is in blue, phosphorylation is in green and ubiquitination is in purple. Position of each amino acid modified is indicated below.
Figure 2. Different chromosomal organisation. (a) Chromosomes do not globally intermingle in the nucleus during interphase, (b) Rabl configuration of chromosomes. Centromeres of each chromosome are connected at the apical pole of the nucleus and formed the chromocenter, whereas telomeres are preferentially found in the basal pole of the nucleus, (c) Radial (left) and relative (right) positioning of human chromosomes. In the radial positioning, distances are measured according to the centre of the nucleus (arrows), and in the relative positioning, distances are measured between chromosomes (arrows).
Figure 3. Nuclear positioning of genes: (a) looping out of specific locus upon activation, (b) concentration of rDNA loci located on different chromosomes to form nucleolus, (c) natural intermingling between different chromosome territories and (d) long-distance chromosomal interactions between two loci into repressive bodies (blue, e.g. Polycomb bodies), or into active RNA factories (red).
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 Further Reading
    other Bryan M Turner (2007) Chromatin and Gene Regulation: Mechanisms in epigenetics, DOI: 10.1002/9780470750629.
    book David Allis, Thomas Jenuwein and Danny Reinberg (2007) Epigenetics. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
    book Elgin SCR and Workman JL (2000) Chromatin Structure and Gene Expression, 2nd edn. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
    book Wolffe A (1998) Chromatin: Structure and Function, 3rd edn. London, UK: Academic Press.
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Grimaud, Charlotte(May 2011) Chromatin Structure and Domains. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005279.pub2]