Length scale of rapid locally restricted movements of subnuclear complexes

Range 0.4-0.5 μm
Organism Various
Reference Görisch SM, Lichter P, Rippe K. Mobility of multi-subunit complexes in the nucleus: accessibility and dynamics of chromatin subcompartments. Histochem Cell Biol. 2005 Mar123(3):217-28. p.222 right column bottom paragraphPubMed ID15830242
Primary Source Marshall WF, Straight A, Marko JF, Swedlow J, Dernburg A, Belmont A, Murray AW, Agard DA, Sedat JW. Interphase chromosomes undergo constrained diffusional motion in living cells. Curr Biol. 1997 Dec 17(12):930-9PubMed ID9382846
Method (Primary source) Researchers exploited methods for tagging specific chromosome sites in living cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with green fluorescent protein and in Drosophila melanogaster with fluorescently labeled topoisomerase ll. Combining these techniques with submicrometer single-particle tracking, researchers directly measured the motion of interphase chromatin, at high resolution and in three dimensions.
Comments Chromatin does indeed undergo significant diffusive motion within the nucleus, but this motion is constrained such that a given chromatin segment is free to move within only a limited subregion of the nucleus.
Entered by Uri M
ID 104275