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Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration

The structure of mitotic chromosomes in cultured newt lung cells was investigated by a quantitative study of their deformability, using micropipettes. Metaphase chromosomes are highly extensible objects that return to their native shape after being stretched up to 10 times their normal length. Large...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Houchmandzadeh, Bahram, Marko, John F., Chatenay, Didier, Libchaber, Albert
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Rockefeller University Press 1997
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2139812/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9314524
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author Houchmandzadeh, Bahram
Marko, John F.
Chatenay, Didier
Libchaber, Albert
author_facet Houchmandzadeh, Bahram
Marko, John F.
Chatenay, Didier
Libchaber, Albert
author_sort Houchmandzadeh, Bahram
collection PubMed
description The structure of mitotic chromosomes in cultured newt lung cells was investigated by a quantitative study of their deformability, using micropipettes. Metaphase chromosomes are highly extensible objects that return to their native shape after being stretched up to 10 times their normal length. Larger deformations of 10 to 100 times irreversibly and progressively transform the chromosomes into a “thin filament,” parts of which display a helical organization. Chromosomes break for elongations of the order of 100 times, at which time the applied force is around 100 nanonewtons. We have also observed that as mitosis proceeds from nuclear envelope breakdown to metaphase, the native chromosomes progressively become more flexible. (The elastic Young modulus drops from 5,000 ± 1,000 to 1,000 ± 200 Pa.) These observations and measurements are in agreement with a helix-hierarchy model of chromosome structure. Knowing the Young modulus allows us to estimate that the force exerted by the spindle on a newt chromosome at anaphase is roughly one nanonewton.
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spelling pubmed-21398122008-05-01 Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration Houchmandzadeh, Bahram Marko, John F. Chatenay, Didier Libchaber, Albert J Cell Biol Article The structure of mitotic chromosomes in cultured newt lung cells was investigated by a quantitative study of their deformability, using micropipettes. Metaphase chromosomes are highly extensible objects that return to their native shape after being stretched up to 10 times their normal length. Larger deformations of 10 to 100 times irreversibly and progressively transform the chromosomes into a “thin filament,” parts of which display a helical organization. Chromosomes break for elongations of the order of 100 times, at which time the applied force is around 100 nanonewtons. We have also observed that as mitosis proceeds from nuclear envelope breakdown to metaphase, the native chromosomes progressively become more flexible. (The elastic Young modulus drops from 5,000 ± 1,000 to 1,000 ± 200 Pa.) These observations and measurements are in agreement with a helix-hierarchy model of chromosome structure. Knowing the Young modulus allows us to estimate that the force exerted by the spindle on a newt chromosome at anaphase is roughly one nanonewton. The Rockefeller University Press 1997-10-06 /pmc/articles/PMC2139812/ /pubmed/9314524 Text en This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.rupress.org/terms). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 4.0 Unported license, as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Houchmandzadeh, Bahram
Marko, John F.
Chatenay, Didier
Libchaber, Albert
Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration
title Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration
title_full Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration
title_fullStr Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration
title_full_unstemmed Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration
title_short Elasticity and Structure of Eukaryote Chromosomes Studied by Micromanipulation and Micropipette Aspiration
title_sort elasticity and structure of eukaryote chromosomes studied by micromanipulation and micropipette aspiration
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2139812/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9314524
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