Nucleosome positioning and chromatin organization

Abstract

In our cells, DNA is folded and packed with the help of many proteins into chromatin whose basic unit is a nucleosome-DNA wrapped around octamer of histone proteins. The chain of nucleosomes is further folded and arranged into many layers and has a dynamic organization. How does the complex chromatin organization emerge from interactions among DNA, histones, and non-histone proteins have been a question of great interest. Here we review recent literature that investigated how nucleosome positioning and nucleosome-mediated interactions drive chromatin organization. Unlike our earlier understanding, chromatin is organized into 3D domains of various sizes having irregularly organized nucleosomes. These domains emerge due to heterogeneous nucleosome positioning and diverse inter-nucleosome interactions that vary in space and time.