Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1995 Mar 28;92(7):2710–2714. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.7.2710

A random-walk/giant-loop model for interphase chromosomes.

R K Sachs 1, G van den Engh 1, B Trask 1, H Yokota 1, J E Hearst 1
PMCID: PMC42288  PMID: 7708711

Abstract

Fluorescence in situ hybridization data on distances between defined genomic sequences are used to construct a quantitative model for the overall geometric structure of a human chromosome. We suggest that the large-scale geometry during the G0/G1 part of the cell cycle may consist of flexible chromatin loops, averaging approximately 3 million bp, with a random-walk backbone. A fully explicit, three-parametric polymer model of this random-walk/giant-loop structure can account well for the data. More general models consistent with the data are briefly discussed.

Full text

PDF
2710

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boy de la Tour E., Laemmli U. K. The metaphase scaffold is helically folded: sister chromatids have predominantly opposite helical handedness. Cell. 1988 Dec 23;55(6):937–944. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90239-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brenner D. J., Sachs R. K. Chromosomal "fingerprints" of prior exposure to densely ionizing radiation. Radiat Res. 1994 Oct;140(1):134–142. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hahnfeldt P., Hearst J. E., Brenner D. J., Sachs R. K., Hlatky L. R. Polymer models for interphase chromosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Aug 15;90(16):7854–7858. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.16.7854. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hlatky L. R., Sachs R. K., Hahnfeldt P. The ratio of dicentrics to centric rings produced in human lymphocytes by acute low-LET radiation. Radiat Res. 1992 Mar;129(3):304–308. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lichter P., Cremer T., Borden J., Manuelidis L., Ward D. C. Delineation of individual human chromosomes in metaphase and interphase cells by in situ suppression hybridization using recombinant DNA libraries. Hum Genet. 1988 Nov;80(3):224–234. doi: 10.1007/BF01790090. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ostashevsky J. Y., Lange C. S. The 30 nm chromatin fiber as a flexible polymer. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 1994 Feb;11(4):813–820. doi: 10.1080/07391102.1994.10508034. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Savage J. R. Interchange and intra-nuclear architecture. Environ Mol Mutagen. 1993;22(4):234–244. doi: 10.1002/em.2850220410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. van den Engh G., Sachs R., Trask B. J. Estimating genomic distance from DNA sequence location in cell nuclei by a random walk model. Science. 1992 Sep 4;257(5075):1410–1412. doi: 10.1126/science.1388286. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES