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The nucleosome is the fundamental subunit of chromatin. Each nucleosome is composed of a little less than two turns of DNA wrapped around a set of eight proteins called histones, which are known as a histone octamer. Each histone octamer is composed of two copies each of the histone proteins H2A, H2B, H3, and H4.
Chromatin contains the vast majority of the DNA in an organism, but a small amount inherited maternally can be found in the mitochondria. It is present in most cells, with a few exceptions, for example, red blood cells. Histones are responsible for the first and most basic unit of chromosome organization, the nucleosome.
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. [1] The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important roles in reinforcing the DNA during cell division , preventing DNA damage , and regulating gene expression ...
Moreover, nuclear organization can play a role in establishing cell identity. Cells within an organism have near identical nucleic acid sequences, but often exhibit different phenotypes. One way in which this individuality occurs is through changes in genome architecture, which can alter the expression of different sets of genes. [5]
In eukaryotic cells, DNA is associated with about an equal mass of histone proteins in a highly condensed nucleoprotein complex called chromatin. [14] Deoxyribonucleoproteins in this kind of complex interact to generate a multiprotein regulatory complex in which the intervening DNA is looped or wound.
Euchromatin (also called "open chromatin") is a lightly packed form of chromatin (DNA, RNA, and protein) that is enriched in genes, and is often (but not always) under active transcription. Euchromatin stands in contrast to heterochromatin , which is tightly packed and less accessible for transcription. 92% of the human genome is euchromatic.
Cells are broadly categorized into two types: eukaryotic cells, which possess a nucleus, and prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus but have a nucleoid region. Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms such as bacteria, whereas eukaryotes can be either single-celled, such as amoebae, or multicellular, such as some algae, plants, animals, and fungi.
Chromatin organization: The basic unit of chromatin organization is the nucleosome, which comprises 147 bp of DNA wrapped around a core of histone proteins. The level of nucleosomal packaging can have profound consequences on all DNA-mediated processes including gene regulation.