It has been known for many years that the protein cohesin is necessary to join sister chromatids together before they are segregated during mitosis. Electron micrographs have shown that cohesin subunits form a ring complex which is thought to encircle the DNA keeping the chromatids together. When they need to separate during anaphase, the cohesin complex is removed by another set of proteins. In his first talk, Dr. Peters explains how observations that he and others made suggested that cohesin may have additional roles in the cell. For instance, cohesin is initially loaded onto chromosome arms at discrete sites and in much larger amounts than is needed for chromatid cohesion. Cohesin also was shown to co-localize on chromosomes with a DNA binding protein called CTCF. CTCF is known to regulate transcription by forming DNA loops. Peters explains that, taken together, these observations hinted at a role for cohesin and CTCF in folding DNA into loops to allow efficient packing of very large eukaryotic genomes into small cell nuclei, and regulating functions such as gene expression.
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How do Cohesin and CTCF Fold DNA in Mammalian Genomes?
The cohesin protein complex joins sister chromatids together before they are segregated during mitosis. In this talk, Dr. Peters presents evidence that cohesin also plays an important role in DNA folding and genome organization. (Talk recorded in May 2019)
- Part 1: Cohesin: Roles Beyond Sister Chromatid Cohesion?Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:33:13 - Part 2: How do Cohesin and CTCF Fold DNA in Mammalian Genomes?Audience:
- Researcher
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Duration: 00:36:34