Small number issues in the genome biology

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Spying minority in biological phenomena -Toward bridging dynamics between individual and ensemble processes-
• Project/Area Number: 23115005
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: National Institute of Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Maeshima Kazuhiro 国立遺伝学研究所, 構造遺伝学研究センター, 教授 (00392118)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TANIGUCHI YUUICHI 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命システム研究センター, ユニットリーダー (90556276)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TAKAHASHI KOUICHI 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命システム研究センター, チームリーダー (20514508) ; YOSHIMURA NARIHIRO 京都大学, 生命科学研究科, 准教授 (90346106)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 核酸 / ゲノム / 生体分子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

How are the two copies of genomic DNA organized and read out in the cell? Although the chromatin had been long assumed to be folded into the 30-nm chromatin fiber and further helical folding structures, we demonstrated that chromatin essentially irregularly folded without the chromatin fiber. Consistent with this notion, using single nucleosome imaging, we uncovered local nucleosome fluctuation in live mammalian cells. Our in vivo/in silico results suggested that local nucleosome dynamics facilitate chromatin accessibility and play an important role in the scanning of genome information, which is critical for many “target searching” biological processes.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学　生物物理学