The Architecture of DNA.
Structural model of Chromatin
The cell packages 2 meters of DNA inside the 0.06 micron nucleus. It does so by folding and coiling the DNA onto itself many times, relying on the help of ‘histone’ proteins. DNA and 8 histones come together to form the ‘nucleosome’, the repeating unit of chromatin. Nucleosomes themselves come together to form ‘chromatin’: beads on a string. Chromatin fibers are in turn packaged further to form the ‘Chromosome’.
The Effectors of Chromatin
Molecules in the nuclear milieu recognize and interact with the DNA and protein components of chromatin. Upon binding, the ‘effector’ begins a signaling cascade that changes the cellular state.
Cut & Run
To understand the mechanisms of chromatin regulation, ‘cutting’ individual nucleosomes out of chromatin and ‘running’ them for analysis can reveal information about their atomic composition and localization in the 3D nuclear environment.
Chromatin
3D-printed in bronze, on black nylon stand.