Chromatin Packing Quiz 6 Part 3

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to chromatin packing and chromosome condensation.

Chromatin Packing

The process by which DNA is folded and organized into increasingly compact structures within the nucleus, involving histones and other proteins.

Linker DNA

The segment of DNA located between adjacent nucleosomes.

H1 protein

A histone protein that attaches to linker DNA and nucleosomes, helping to stabilize the 30-nm fiber structure.

Nucleosome

The basic repeating unit of chromatin, consisting of DNA wrapped around a core of 8 histone proteins.

Histone proteins

A group of 8 proteins (H2A, H2B, H3, H4) that form the core around which DNA is wound to create a nucleosome.

30-nm fiber

A more compact form of chromatin packing where nucleosomes and linker DNA are coiled together, stabilized by H1 proteins.

Looped domains (300-nm fiber)

Further compaction of the 30-nm fiber into large loops attached to a protein scaffold.

Protein scaffold

A non-histone protein framework that organizes looped domains of chromatin, contributing to further condensation.

Condensed chromosome

The most compact form of DNA, visible during cell division, formed by extensive coiling and folding of chromatin.