The 3D Topography of Mitotic Chromosomes

Overview

Journal Mol Cell

Publisher Cell Press

Specialty Cell Biology

Date 2020 Aug 10

PMID 32768407

Citations 21

Authors

Lingluo Chu

Zhangyi Liang

Maria Mukhina

Jay Fisher

Nadine Vincenten

Zheng Zhang

John Hutchinson

Denise Zickler

Nancy Kleckner

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A long-standing conundrum is how mitotic chromosomes can compact, as required for clean separation to daughter cells, while maintaining close parallel alignment of sister chromatids. Pursuit of this question, by high resolution 3D fluorescence imaging of living and fixed mammalian cells, has led to three discoveries. First, we show that the structural axes of separated sister chromatids are linked by evenly spaced "mini-axis" bridges. Second, when chromosomes first emerge as discrete units, at prophase, they are organized as co-oriented sister linear loop arrays emanating from a conjoined axis. We show that this same basic organization persists throughout mitosis, without helical coiling. Third, from prophase onward, chromosomes are deformed into sequential arrays of half-helical segments of alternating handedness (perversions), accompanied by correlated kinks. These arrays fluctuate dynamically over <15 s timescales. Together these discoveries redefine the foundation for thinking about the evolution of mitotic chromosomes as they prepare for anaphase segregation.

Citing Articles

Nanoscale 3D DNA tracing reveals the mechanism of self-organization of mitotic chromosomes.

Beckwith K, Brunner A, Morero N, Jungmann R, Ellenberg J bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39554202 PMC: 11565811. DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.28.620625.

The chromosome folding problem and how cells solve it.

Dekker J, Mirny L Cell. 2024; 187(23):6424-6450.

PMID: 39547207 PMC: 11569382. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.026.

Human Topoisomerase IIα Promotes Chromatin Condensation Via a Phase Transition.

Wu M, Beck C, Lee J, Fulbright Jr R, Jeong J, Inman J bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39464128 PMC: 11507700. DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.15.618281.

Advanced environmental scanning electron microscopy reveals natural surface nano-morphology of condensed mitotic chromosomes in their native state.

Nedela V, Tihlarikova E, Capal P, Dolezel J Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):12998.

PMID: 38844535 PMC: 11156959. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63515-9.

A non-canonical role of the inner kinetochore in regulating sister-chromatid cohesion at centromeres.

Yan L, Yuan X, Liu M, Chen Q, Zhang M, Xu J EMBO J. 2024; 43(12):2424-2452.

PMID: 38714893 PMC: 11182772. DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00104-6.

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