Chromosome Structural Analysis: A Practical Approach

The transcription of genes and the duplication and segregation of the eukaryotic genome occurs within the context of chromatin and chromosomes. Chromosomes are macromolecular complexes of the primary DNA sequence complexed with protein, and perhaps also with RNA. The formation of chromatin occurs through a series of hierarchical interactions with proteins: starting with the interaction with the histone octamer to form nucleosomes and finishing with the chromosome in its fully condensed form ready for mitosis. By this stage a 10000-fold linear compaction of the DNA has been achieved. It is this very hierarchy of packaging that has made the analysis of chromatin and chromosome structure so difficult because of the problems in dissecting out any one particular layer of packaging without destroying or disrupting preceding levels.

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Keywords: Chromosome Structural Analysis, DNA, biology