New Research Sheds Light on Chromatin Condensate Formation (VIDEO)
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A team led by HHMI Investigator Michael Rosen used advanced imaging techniques to understand how fibers of compacted DNA and proteins are organized and interact inside membrane-less, droplet-like structures called condensates. To compress itself inside the nucleus, DNA wraps around proteins to form nucleosomes that are linked together like beads on a string. These strings coil into compact chromatin fibers, which are further condensed inside the nucleus. Rosen and his team have found that synthetic nucleosomes created in the lab congregate into membrane-less blobs called condensates. This happens through a process called phase separation, akin to oil droplets forming in water, that the researchers think mimics how chromatin compacts inside cells. These videos, created from advanced imaging of the synthetic condensates, show how the length of linker DNA connecting the nucleosomes affects how the structures are arranged, which in turn affects the interactions between chromatin fibers and the network structure of the condensates. These physical features helped explain why some chromatin fibers undergo phase separation better than others and why condensates formed by different kinds of chromatin have different material properties.
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Credit: Margot Riggi
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Credit: Margot Riggi
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