Chromatin conformation capture-based analysis of nuclear architecture

Abstract

Nuclear organization and higher-order chromosome structure in interphase nuclei are thought to have important effects on fundamental biological processes, including chromosome condensation, replication, and transcription. Until recently, however, nuclear organization could only be analyzed microscopically. The development of chromatin conformation capture (3C)-based techniques now allows a detailed look at chromosomal architecture from the level of individual loci to the entire genome. Here we provide a robust Hi-C protocol, allowing the analysis of nuclear organization in nuclei from different wild-type and mutant plant tissues. This method is quantitative and provides a highly effi cient and comprehensive way to study chromatin organization during plant development, in response to different environmental stimuli, and in mutants disrupting a variety of processes, including epigenetic pathways regulating gene expression.