染色质高级结构——基因组调控的重要形式

Chromatin higher-order structure:an important form of genome regulation

真核生物的染色体高度致密,且在细胞核中形成多种构象。近年来发展起来的染色体构象捕获技术及其衍生技术,使得在分子水平上研究染色质结构与功能成为可能。越来越多的证据表明,染色质高级结构的形成并不是随机的,而是参与调控基因表达的一个关键因素。主要介绍基于染色体构象捕获技术发展出的不同技术,并总结目前关于染色质高级结构的特征与功能的知识。

Eukaryotic chromosomes are highly compact and form various conformations in cell nucleus.The recent development of chromosome conformation capture（3C） technology and other related technologies have enabled the identification and functional studies of chromatin structures at the molecular level.Increasing lines of evidence have shown that the formation of chromatin higher-order structures is not random,but serves as a key factor to facilitate gene expression.Here,we will introduce the basic concepts of variable 3C-based chromatin structure investigation techniques,and review the current knowledge about the features and functions of chromosome higher-order structures.