What is Chromocenter in polytene chromosome?
polytene chromosome chromocentre. Definition: A region at which the centric regions of polytene chromosomes are joined together.
Are metaphase chromosomes heterochromatin?
It can be seen that the pattern of heterochromatin in metaphase chromosomes re- vealed by this procedure agrees well with that observed in late prophase and prometaphase chro- mosomes (for review of early literature, see Cooper2).
What is a Chromocenter?
Definition of chromocenter : a densely staining aggregation of heterochromatic regions in the nucleus of some cells.
Are Chromatins and chromosomes?
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. During cell division, the structure of the chromatin and chromosomes are visible under a light microscope, and they change in shape as the DNA is duplicated and separated into two cells.
What are the roles of Interbands in polytene chromosome?
The interbands are involved in the interaction with the active chromatin proteins, nucleosome remodeling, and origin recognition complexes. Their primary functions are: to act as binding sites for RNA pol II, to initiate replication and, to start nucleosome remodeling of short fragments of DNA.
Can euchromatin become heterochromatin?
The mechanisms of chromatin density change are: DNA methylation- can cause segments of DNA to become more densely packed and downregulate expression, which is an example of euchromatin changing to heterochromatin.
What is chromatin differentiate between euchromatin and heterochromatin?
The major difference between Euchromatin and Heterochromatin is that euchromatin is an uncoiled packed and genetically active form of chromatin. While heterochromatin is a firmly packed form and is a genetically inactive part of the chromosomes.
What is Pericentromeric heterochromatin?
Pericentromeric DNA represents a large fraction of the mammalian genome that is usually assembled into heterochromatin. While most DNA transactions are facilitated within euchromatin, which embodies permissive structures, heterochromatin designates specialized structures in which such trans- actions are inhibited.
What is chromatin DNA?
Chromatin is a substance within a chromosome consisting of DNA and protein. The DNA carries the cell’s genetic instructions. The major proteins in chromatin are histones, which help package the DNA in a compact form that fits in the cell nucleus.
What is chromatin heterochromatin and euchromatin?
Heterochromatin and euchromatin are two major categories of chromatin higher order structure. Heterochromatin has condensed chromatin structure and is inactive for transcription, while euchromatin has loose chromatin structure and active for transcription.
What are centric and pericentric heterochromatin?
Regions of heterochromatin within the chromosome’s centromeres are termed centric or chromocenter heterochromatin, and are specifically enriched in the marks H3K9me3 and H3K27me [55,61]. Pericentric heterochromatin, regions flanking centric heterochromatin, contains H4K20 trimethylation [61,66], H3K9 dimethylation, and H3K27 trimethylation [16,55].
What is the function of heterochromatin in centromere?
Centromeres in yeast, fruit flies, and mammals are flanked by heterochromatin, indicating that its repetitive composition or dense chromatin structure may represent an important, conserved function in centromere structure and function.
What are chromocenters and why are they important?
Structures known as chromocenters, comprising satellite DNA and proteins such as D1 or HMGA1, help to contain DNA inside the nucleus between cell divisions.
Why are chromosomes arranged around the chromocenter?
Whole chromosome domains are arranged around the chromocenter, suggesting that the chromocenter is a central organizing structure that helps create a defined nuclear topology in spermatids ( Haaf & Ward, 1995; Meyer-Ficca et al., 1998 ).