Chromatin recently emerged as one of the governing factors for self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) cells. Stem cell chromatin is distinct from that of somatic or differentiated cells in several different structural and functional aspects including chromatin modifications, global chromatin arrangement and condensation and compaction of chromosome territories. Live imaging method...

Chromatin was prepared by two dif ferent methods f rom isolated nuclei of Gyrodinium cohnii ( Cryptothecodinium cohnii) and Peridinium trochoideum. These isolation procedures are different from those generally used to prepare eukaryote chromatin, because the latter do not work for dinoflagellate chromatin. The chemical composition of this chromatin is similar for both methods of preparation and...

Although chromatin condensation is one of the hallmarks of apoptosis, its relationship with DNA fragmentation has been controversial. We show here that apoptotic chromatin condensation is regulated by nucleoplasmin, a protein that decondenses sperm chromatin during male pronuclear assembly. In Xenopus egg extracts, nucleoplasmin is tyrosine-dephosphorylated during apoptosis. This dephosphorylat...