Outline for Chromosome, chromatin and telomeres

Jin-Qiu Zhou (周金秋), Ph.D.

Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences
Chinese Academy of Sciences
jqzhou@sibs.ac.cn

I. Chromosome

1. Eukaryotic DNA is packaged into a set of chromosomes

2. History of discovery for chromatin and chromosome
3. Chromosome structure and function

II. Chromatin

1. Euchromatin and heterochromatin

2. Nucleosome, the basic unit of eukaryotic chromosome structure
3. Histones
4. How linear DNA molecular is packed into a compact chromosome

III. Centromere

1. Centromere: centromere DNA and binding proteins/centromere function

2. Kinetochore: structure and function

IV. Telomeres

1. Telomeres
2. Telomerase
3. Telomere and aging
4. Telomere and cancer
5. Telomere evolution

Reviews:

Cech T.R. (2005) Beginning to understand the end of the chromosome. Cell
116:273-279.

Cleveland D.W. et al (2003) Centromeres and kinetochores: from epigenetics to

mitotic checkpoint signaling. Cell 112:407-421.

Paper for discussion:

Crabbe et al (2004) Defective Telomere Lagging Strand Synthesis in Cells
Lacking WRN Helicase Activity Science 306:1951-1253.
Note：
1. Hediger’s movies come from Live Imaging of Telomeres: yKu and Sir Proteins Define
Redundant Telomere-Anchoring Pathways in Yeast. (See the new attachment or visit
http://www.current-biology.com/cgi/content/full/12/24/2076/DC1/)
2. Compton lab’s movies come from http://dms.dartmouth.edu/compton/movies/