what is chromatin fiber in 500 words ? ❤
Answers
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. Its primary function is packaging long DNA molecules into a 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 and DNA replication. During mitosis and meiosis, chromatin facilitates proper segregation of the chromosomes in anaphase; the characteristic shapes of chromosomes visible during this stage are the result of DNA being coiled into highly condensed chromatin.The primary protein components of chromatin are histones, which bind to DNA and function as "anchors" around which the strands are wound. In general, there are three levels of chromatin organization:
1) DNA wraps around histone proteins, forming nucleosomes and the so-called "beads on a string" structure (euchromatin).
2) Multiple histones wrap into a 30-nanometer fibre consisting of nucleosome arrays in their most compact form (heterochromatin)
3) Higher-level DNA supercoiling of the 30-nm fiber produces the metaphase chromosome (during mitosis and meiosis).