Chromatin structure and dynamics: one nucleosome at a time.
Diego Martín PresmanBelén BenítezAgustina L LafuenteAlejo Vázquez LareuPublished in: Histochemistry and cell biology (2024)
Eukaryotic genomes store information on many levels, including their linear DNA sequence, the posttranslational modifications of its constituents (epigenetic modifications), and its three-dimensional folding. Understanding how this information is stored and read requires multidisciplinary collaborations from many branches of science beyond biology, including physics, chemistry, and computer science. Concurrent recent developments in all these areas have enabled researchers to image the genome with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. In this review, we focus on what single-molecule imaging and tracking of individual proteins in live cells have taught us about chromatin structure and dynamics. Starting with the basics of single-molecule tracking (SMT), we describe some advantages over in situ imaging techniques and its current limitations. Next, we focus on single-nucleosome studies and what they have added to our current understanding of the relationship between chromatin dynamics and transcription. In celebration of Robert Feulgen's ground-breaking discovery that allowed us to start seeing the genome, we discuss current models of chromatin structure and future challenges ahead.
Keyphrases
- single molecule
- genome wide
- gene expression
- transcription factor
- dna damage
- dna methylation
- atomic force microscopy
- living cells
- high resolution
- public health
- induced apoptosis
- deep learning
- health information
- high throughput
- oxidative stress
- healthcare
- machine learning
- current status
- room temperature
- quality improvement
- neural network
- fluorescence imaging
- drug discovery
- molecular dynamics simulations