Principles of chromatin organization in yeast: relevance of polymer models to describe nuclear organization and dynamics

Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2015 Jun:34:54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2015.04.004. Epub 2015 May 15.

Abstract

Nuclear organization can impact on all aspects of the genome life cycle. This organization is thoroughly investigated by advanced imaging and chromosome conformation capture techniques, providing considerable amount of datasets describing the spatial organization of chromosomes. In this review, we will focus on polymer models to describe chromosome statics and dynamics in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We suggest that the equilibrium configuration of a polymer chain tethered at both ends and placed in a confined volume is consistent with the current literature, implying that local chromatin interactions play a secondary role in yeast nuclear organization. Future challenges are to reach an integrated multi-scale description of yeast chromosome organization, which is crucially needed to improve our understanding of the regulation of genomic transaction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatin*
  • Chromosomes
  • Genome, Fungal
  • Humans
  • Models, Biological
  • Polymers / metabolism*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism

Substances

  • Chromatin
  • Polymers