Figure 1. Schematic showing indirect regulatory and direct architectural role of RNA in chromatin organization.

RNA is known to recruit chromatin modifiers such as histone modifying enzymes, chromatin remodelers and chromatin compacting proteins (Left). RNA can also act as a tether to fold or compact chromatin by direct interactions (Right). In situ RNA depletion by RNase A treatment leads to loss of total nuclear RNA, while keeping the RNA-independent nuclear structures intact. The regions organized into specific chromatin configurations by architectural RNA will lose their structure upon RNA depletion while the regions maintained by chromatin modifiers proteins with not.