Structural–Functional Domains of the Eukaryotic Genome

It is well known that DNA folding in the eukaryotic cell nucleus is tightly coupled with the operation of epigenetic mechanisms defining the repertoires of the genes expressed in different types of cells. To understand these mechanisms, it is important to know how DNA is packaged in chromatin. About...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biochemistry (Moscow) 2018-04, Vol.83 (4), p.302-312
Main Authors: Razin, S. V., Gavrilov, A. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Bioorganic Chemistry
Cell nucleus
Chromatin
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Epigenetics
Eukaryotes
Folding
Genes
Genetic aspects
Genetic research
Genomes
Genomics
Life Sciences
Microbiology
Nuclei
Nuclei (cytology)
Physiological aspects
Review
Spatial analysis
Structure
Structure-function relationships
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Summary:It is well known that DNA folding in the eukaryotic cell nucleus is tightly coupled with the operation of epigenetic mechanisms defining the repertoires of the genes expressed in different types of cells. To understand these mechanisms, it is important to know how DNA is packaged in chromatin. About 30 years ago a hypothesis was formulated, according to which epigenetic mechanisms operate not at the level of individual genes, but rather groups of genes localized in structurally and functionally isolated genomic segments that were called structural and functional domains. The question of what exactly these domains constitute has been re-examined multiple times as our knowledge of principles of chromatin folding has changed. In this review, we discuss structural and functional genomic domains in light of the current model of interphase chromosome organization based on the results of analysis of spatial proximity between remote genomic elements.
ISSN:0006-2979
1608-3040
DOI:10.1134/S0006297918040028