The DNA of eukaryotic organisms is packaged by histone proteins into chromatin. The structural organization of chromatin is tied to its function. Loosely packed, more transcriptionally active regions of chromatin are known as euchromatin, whereas highly condensed, less transcriptionally active regions are known as heterochromatin.

Despite advances in the study of chromatin structure over the past 100 years, a biochemical understanding of how basic structural motifs beget higher-order chromatin organization remains lacking.

In a new Science study, researchers present an approach that enables imaging and analysis of the structure of chromatin condensates in situ, which moves the field much closer toward defining the structural chromatin motifs that underpin its nuclear functions.

Learn more in a new Science Perspective.

Cryogenic electron tomography of condensed chromatin enables multiscale analysis of its structure.

Kaite Zhang and Vijay Ramani Authors Info & Affiliations

Science

Vol 390, Issue 6777