Road signs and traffic signals on DNA: Physical model describes the distribution of nucleosomes
Friday, August 20, 2010 - 09:49
in Biology & Nature
The DNA genomes of organisms whose cells possess nuclei are packaged in a highly characteristic fashion. Most of the DNA is tightly wrapped around protein particles called nucleosomes, which are connected to each other by flexible DNA segments, like pearls on a necklace. This arrangement plays a major role in deciding which genes are actively expressed, and thus which proteins can be synthesized in a given cell.