Scientists have recently discovered that there is a mysterious ‘sheath-like’ structure that OCCUPIES up to 47% of EVERY chromosome. The precise function of the structure is still unknown.
As it turns out, there more to chromosomes than just DNA.
Scientists believed that inside of the nucleus of ever cell, DNA molecules are elaborately packed around proteins referred to as histones in order to form chromosomes. We’ve believed for over a century that chromosomes were made from a complex of DNA and histone proteins referred to as chromatin, built inside the nucleus of each cell. Chromatin is the substance in chromosomes which contains the building blocks of life: protein, RNA, and DNA.
However, a new study has proven that there’s much more to chromosomes than the 25,000 genes they contain.
Scientists have recently discovered that there is a mysterious ‘sheath-like’ structure which is accounts up to 47% of EVERY chromosome. Researchers suggest it may keep chromosomes isolated from one another during the key process of cell division.
“The imaging technique we have developed to study chromosomes is truly groundbreaking. Defining the structure of all 46 human chromosomes for the first time has forced us to reconsider the idea that they are composed almost exclusively of chromatin, an assumption that has gone largely unchallenged for almost 100 years,” says one of the team, biologist Daniel Booth.
