Abstract
Our knowledge of the “architecture” of chromosomes has grown enormously in the past decade. This new insight has been enabled largely through advances in interdisciplinary research methods at the cutting-edge interface of the life and physical sciences. Importantly this has involved several state-of-the-art biophysical tools used in conjunction with molecular biology approaches which enable investigation of chromosome structure and function in living cells. Also, there are new and emerging interfacial science tools which enable significant improvements to the spatial and temporal resolution of quantitative measurements, such as in vivo super-resolution and powerful new single-molecule biophysics methods, which facilitate probing of dynamic chromosome processes hitherto impossible. And there are also important advances in the methods of theoretical biophysics which have enabled advances in predictive modeling of this high quality experimental data from molecular and physical biology to generate new understanding of the modes of operation of chromosomes, both in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Here, I discuss these advances, and take stock on the current state of our knowledge of chromosome architecture and speculate where future advances may lead.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Wollman AJM, Miller H, Zhou Z et al (2015) Probing DNA interactions with proteins using a single-molecule toolbox: inside the cell, in a test tube and in a computer. Biochem Soc Trans 43:139–145
Wollman AJM, Nudd R, Hedlund EG et al (2015) From animaculum to single molecules: 300 years of the light microscope. Open Biol 5:150019
Lenn T, Leake MC, Mullineaux CW (2008) Are Escherichia coli OXPHOS complexes concentrated in specialized zones within the plasma membrane? Biochem Soc Trans 36:1032–1036
Plank M, Wadhams GH, Leake MC (2009) Millisecond timescale slimfield imaging and automated quantification of single fluorescent protein molecules for use in probing complex biological processes. Integr Biol 1:602–612
Chiu S-W, Leake MC (2011) Functioning nanomachines seen in real-time in living bacteria using single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence imaging. Int J Mol Sci 12:2518–2542
Robson A, Burrage K, Leake MC (2013) Inferring diffusion in single live cells at the single-molecule level. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 368:20120029
Bryan SJ, Burroughs NJ, Shevela D et al (2014) Localisation and interactions of the Vipp1 protein in cyanobacteria. Mol Microbiol 94(5):1179–1195
Llorente-Garcia I, Lenn T, Erhardt H et al (2014) Single-molecule in vivo imaging of bacterial respiratory complexes indicates delocalized oxidative phosphorylation. Biochim Biophys Acta 1837:811–824
Reyes-Lamothe R, Sherratt DJ, Leake MC (2010) Stoichiometry and architecture of active DNA replication machinery in Escherichia coli. Science 328:498–501
Badrinarayanan A, Reyes-Lamothe R, Uphoff S et al (2012) In vivo architecture and action of bacterial structural maintenance of chromosome proteins. Science 338:528–531
Wollman AJM, Leake MC (2015) Millisecond single-molecule localization microscopy combined with convolution analysis and automated image segmentation to determine protein concentrations in complexly structured, functional cells, one cell at a time. Faraday Discuss 184:401–424.
Lenn T, Leake MC (2016) Single-molecule studies of the dynamics and interactions of bacterial OXPHOS complexes. Biochim Biophys Acta 1857(3):224–231
Leake MC (2013) The physics of life: one molecule at a time. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 368(1611):20120248
Miller H, Zhaokun Z, Wollman AJM et al (2015) Superresolution imaging of single DNA molecules using stochastic photoblinking of minor groove and intercalating dyes. Methods 88:81–88
Acknowledgments
M.C.L. was assisted by a Royal Society URF and research funds from the Biological Physical Sciences Institute (BPSI) of the University of York, UK.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Leake, M.C. (2016). New Advances in Chromosome Architecture. In: Leake, M. (eds) Chromosome Architecture. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1431. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3631-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3631-1_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3629-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3631-1
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols