DNA moves steadily during interphase, providing cells with a robust housekeeping system

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Japanese researchers have found that the local DNA motion in human cells remains constant throughout interphase, where the cell grows and replicates its DNA for cell division. According to the study, this steady-state DNA motion allows cells to perform housekeeping tasks.

The research was published in Science Advances on June 3.

In order to fit inside the nucleus of the cell, the strands of DNA are wrapped around the groups of histones that make up the nucleus. It is possible to fold up the nucleus into even more smaller structures. In previous research, it was shown that the cells are swaying.

The nuclear environment surrounding the nucleus changes as the cell cycle progresses. The question was created by Maeshima and colleagues at the National Institute of Genetics.

The group used a high-resolution light microscopy technique to look at the behavior of individual nucleosomes inside living cells.

Although genome DNA is doubled by DNA replication and the nucleus grows, the local chromatin motion remains steady. Nuclear growth without replication didn't affect the motion of the chromatin. Local chromatin motion is unaffected by nuclear changes.

The first author Shiori Iida said that the steady-state motion allowed cells to conduct their routines under similar nuclear environments. For target searching or recruiting a piece of machinery, local chromatin motion is important. The robust cellular system is provided by the steady-state motion of chromatin.

According to Maeshima, cells can change their motion from a steady state to an ad hoc one in response to damage to their genes. He and his team want to explore how genes are regulated and how genes are involved in cell division. Maeshima's ultimate goal is to understand how human genomic DNA inside the cell behaves to read out genetic information.

More information: Shiori Iida et al, Single nucleosome imaging reveals steady-state motion of interphase chromatin in living human cells, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn5626. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abn5626 Journal information: Science Advances Provided by Research Organization of Information and Systems