Year: 2012
Type: review
Abstract: Chromatin is a multiscale structure on which transcription, replication, recombination and repair of the genome occur. To fully understand any of these processes at the molecular level under physiological conditions, a clear picture of the polymorphic and dynamic organization of chromatin in the eukaryotic nucleus is required. Recent studies indicate that a fractal model of chromatin architecture is consistent with both the reaction-diffusion properties of chromatin interacting proteins and with structural data on chromatin interminglement. In this study, we provide a critical overview of the experimental evidence that support a fractal organization of chromatin. On this basis, we discuss the functional implications of a fractal chromatin model for biological processes and propose future experiments to probe chromatin organization further that should allow to strongly support or invalidate the fractal hypothesis.
Source: Nucleic Acids Research
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gks586
Authors: A. Bancaud, C. Lavelle, S. Huet, J. Ellenberg
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Inserm, Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Institut de génétique et de développement de Rennes, Structure et Instabilité des Génomes, Université de Toulouse
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,992
OpenAlex ID: W2152132278