Genome Organization

Flashcards of vocabulary terms and definitions related to genome organization.

Chromatin

The state of nuclear DNA and its associated proteins.

Euchromatin

Less tightly packed chromatin that occupies most of the nucleoplasm.

Heterochromatin

Chromatin that remains densely packed throughout interphase.

Centromere

A constricted region of a chromosome that includes the attachment site to the mitotic or meiotic spindle.

Telomere

Required for the stability of the chromosome end and consists of long arrays of short repeat sequences.

Telomerase

A large ribonucleoprotein; it uses its own RNA as template for telomere extension.

Chromosome territory

Discrete 3D spaces occupied by individual chromosomes in the interphase nucleus.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)

A molecular cytogenetic technique that uses fluorescent DNA molecule probes that bind to the chromosome which has sequence complementarity.

Insulators

Specialized chromatin structures with Dnase I hypersensitive sites involved in 3D genome organization.

Topologically Associating Domains (TADs)

Self-interacting domains within chromosomes, typically 1-2Mb in size, showing a higher ratio of chromosomal contacts within the domain than outside of it.

Lamina-associating domains (LADs)

Genomic regions that preferentially associate with the nuclear lamina and are generally gene poor.

Nucleolar-associating domains (NADs)

Genomic regions that associate with the nucleolar region, the site of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis and processing.

CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)

A sequence-specific DNA-binding protein with 11-zinc-finger domain that contributes to cell-type-specific chromatin organization and function.

Cohesin complex

Large ring-shaped multi-subunit protein complex that binds DNA strands and functions as a chromatin architectural protein.