Capturing native interactions: intrinsic methods to study chromatin conformation

The 3D organization of chromatin controls gene expression through spatial interactions between genomic loci. FISH and 3C‐based methods that are commonly used to study chromatin organization utilize chemical crosslinking, a step that may introduce biases in detectable chromatin interactions. In their recent study, Papantonis and colleagues (Brant et al, 2016) developed alternative new methods of detecting chromatin contacts without the use of chemical crosslinking agents. These tools increase the resolution and confidence at which interactions can be identified, and may be informative for chromatin interaction dynamics.