Revealing chromatin organization in metaphase chromosomes

Abstract

© 2019 The Author The local structural organization of chromatin in mitotic chromosomes is not well understood. A new cryo-electron tomography study from the Daban laboratory (Chicano et al,) reveals that mitotic chromatin isolated from human cells can assume a plate-like fine structure, containing layers of interdigitated nucleosomes. Such a multilayered organization suggests a possible model for mitotic chromatin compaction.