PNAS: Chromatin dynamics promote DNA repair

Chromatin is involved in many cellular processes, including DNA replication, transcription, and repair

The researchers found that the movement of chromatin is not random

"DNA in the nucleus is always in motion, not at rest," said Jing Liu, assistant professor of physics at Indiana-Purdue University.

The researchers first observed patterns of chromatin microdomains and then superimposed a physical map of chromatin dynamics with readouts of DNA breakage and chromatin compression within living cells

The team found that chromatin movement is also severely restricted when DNA is damaged and ultimately reduces consistency

"These results help to understand the mechanisms of DNA repair in human cells and how cancer occurs

Going forward, the researchers hope to analyze the movements of individual DNA molecules, including individual and population dynamics, and how these movements change when DNA is damaged

Original text retrieval

DNA damage reduces heterogeneity and coherence of chromatin motions