Genome 3D Structure Generated through Chromatin Movement

Abstract

Recent biochemical and microscopic measurements have revealed fluctuating chromatin structures of 10^–7 to 10^–5 m. These structures are intrinsically related to DNA transcription and replication; therefore, elucidating the physical principles of chromatin structural dynamics is essential for understanding cell functions. A three-dimensional computational model of the whole human genome was developed through the physics-based bottom-up approach, which quantitatively explained various genomic and microscopic data on chromatin. The model suggests that the difference in the functional activity among chromatin domains leads to the heterogeneous domain movement in the genome, which entropically drives chromatin phase separation to form A and B compartments.