The search result changed since you submitted your search request. Documents might be displayed in a different sort order.
  • search hit 165 of 200
Back to Result List

Morphology of transcriptionally active chromatin

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-41097
  • Some decades ago it was noted by cytologists that within the interphase nucleus large portions of the transcriptionally ("genetically," in their terms) inactive chromosomal material are contained in aggregates of condensed chromatin, the "chromocenters," whereas transcriptionally active regions of chromosomes appear in a more dispersed form and are less intensely stained with DNA-directed staining procedures (Heitz 1929, 1932, 1956; Bauer 1933). The hypothesis that condensed chromatin is usually characterized by very low or no transcriptionalSome decades ago it was noted by cytologists that within the interphase nucleus large portions of the transcriptionally ("genetically," in their terms) inactive chromosomal material are contained in aggregates of condensed chromatin, the "chromocenters," whereas transcriptionally active regions of chromosomes appear in a more dispersed form and are less intensely stained with DNA-directed staining procedures (Heitz 1929, 1932, 1956; Bauer 1933). The hypothesis that condensed chromatin is usually characterized by very low or no transcriptional activity, and that transcription occurs in loosely packed forms of chromatin (including, in most cells, the nucleolar chromatin) has received support from studies of ultrathin sections in the electron microscope and from the numerous attempts to separate transcriptionally active from inactive chromatin biochemically (for references, see Anderson et al. 1975; Berkowitz and Doty 1975; Krieg and Wells 1976; Rickwood and Birnie 1976; Gottesfeld 1977). Electron microscopic autoradiography has revealed that sites of RNA synthesis are enriched in dispersed chromatin regions located at the margins of condensed chromatin (Fakan and Bernhard 1971, 1973; Bouteille et al. 1974; Bachellerie et al. 1975) and are characterized by the occurrence of distinct granular and fibrillar ribonucleoprotein (RNP) structures, such as perichromatin granules and fibrils. The discovery that, in most eukaryotic nuclei, major parts of the chromatin are organized in the form of nucleosomes (Olins and Olins 1974; Kornberg 1974; Baldwin et al. 1975) has raised the question whether the same nucleosomal packing of DNA is also present in transcriptionally active chromatin strands. Recent detailed examination of the morphology of active and inactive chromatin involving a diversity of electron microscopic methods, particularly the spreading technique by Miller and coworkers (Miller and Beatty 1969; Miller and Bakken 1972), has indicated that the DNA of some actively transcribed regions is not packed into nucleosomal particles but is present in a rather extended form within a relatively thin (4-7 nm) chromatin fiber.show moreshow less

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author: Werner W. Franke, Ulrich Scheer, Michael F. Trendelenburg, H. Zentgraf, H. Spring
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-41097
Document Type:Conference Proceeding
Faculties:Fakultät für Biologie / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften
Language:English
Year of Completion:1978
Source:In: Chromatin ; Teil 2 / Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory <Cold Spring Harbor>. - 1978. - (Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology ; 42), S. 755 - 772.
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
Release Date:2010/01/27