Cell cycle dynamics and developmental dynamics of the 3D genome: toward linking the two timescales

Abstract

In the mammalian cell nucleus, chromosomes are folded differently in interphase and mitosis. Interphase chromosomes are relatively decondensed and display at least two unique layers of higher-order organization: topologically associating domains (TADs) and cell-type-specific A/B compartments, which correlate well with early/late DNA replication timing (RT). In mitosis, these structures rapidly disappear but are gradually reconstructed during G1 phase, coincident with the establishment of the RT program. However, these structures also change dynamically during cell differentiation and reprogramming, and yet we are surprisingly ignorant about the relationship between their cell cycle dynamics and developmental dynamics. In this review, we summarize the recent findings on this topic, discuss how these two processes might be coordinated with each other and its potential significance.