This volume details a valuable collection of protocols and reviews, such as emerging experimental and theoretical approaches. These approaches have resulted in a substantial improvement in the understanding of chromosome architecture. Chromosome Architecture: Methods and Protocols guides readers through cutting-edge interdisciplinary methods which allow for an understanding of architecture of chromosomes with exceptionally enhanced resolution, both in terms of space and time. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Chromosome Architecture: Methods and Protocols aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

This detailed new edition collects cutting-edge laboratory protocols, techniques, and applications in use by some of the leading international experts in the broad field of chromosome architecture. The book emphasizes the increasing physiological relevance of chromosome architecture investigation, manifest both through application of more complex bottom-up assays in vitro as well as through maintaining the native physiological context through the investigation of living, functional cells. In addition, the chapters reflect the dramatic improvement in the length scale of precision by utilizing single-molecule approaches, both for imaging the DNA content of chromosome and proteins that bind to DNA as well as using methods that can controllably manipulate single DNA molecules, and the use of advanced computational methods and mathematical analysis is also featured. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and up-to-date, Chromosome Architecture: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition is an ideal guide for researchers working in this dynamic area of study.

The 82nd Cold Spring Harbor Symposium focused on Chromosome Segregation & Structure and addressed the enormous progress in our understanding of the nature and behavior of chromosomes during the life cycle of the cell. It is rare to find such a wide-ranging perspective on this topic in one volume and this collection of papers will be valuable to investigators interested in many aspects of cell biology, genetics, and cancer. The topics covered at the meeting included: Meiosis; Mitosis; Chromosome Segregation; Centrosomes and Centrioles; Ploidy, Chromosome Segregation Errors & Disease; Asymmetric Cell Division; Nuclear Architecture; Chromosome Structure and Condensation; Sister Chromatid Cohesion; Genome Stability; and Germ Cells. Numerous speakers participated in interviews during the course of the Symposium week and transcripts of those discussions and the Dorcas Cummings lecture by David Page are included.

Meiosis is a special type of cell division that allows the generation of haploid gametes and is a key process for sexual reproduction of animals, plants and fungi. Haploidization requires that meiotic cells undergo a series of unique processes; namely, pairing, synapsis, recombination and segregation of homologous chromosomes. This involves profound meiosis-specific changes in the protein composition and architecture of homologous chromosomes as well as of the condensation and folding of chromatin that require a critical timing and regulation. Despite this enormous complexity, different organisms may achieve haploidization through common molecular mechanisms. A major goal of this article collection is to provide an overview of how meiotic chromosomes and their components are critically involved in the mechanisms of haploidization and how dynamic protein complexes yield important structural intermediates and temporal regulation to this process. We welcome submissions of original articles, mini-reviews and review articles dealing with the composition, architecture, function and regulation of meiotic chromosomes of animals, plants and fungi using microscopic, biochemical, molecular, genetic and/or ‘omic’ techniques.

This volume is a compilation of twenty articles written by scientists from different parts of the world dealing with various aspects of repetitive sequences in chromosomes, telomeric sequences and their maintenance by telomerase, chromatin structure and gene activation, centrometric complexity in holocentric chromosomes, translocation frequencies in X and Y chromosomes and evolution of DNA repair mechanisms, cytogenetics of certain groups of animals viz. lepidoptera, fishes and birds, and radiosensitivity as an indicator of predisposition to breast cancer. The molecular genetics of various cancers viz., gastrointestinal, lung, prostate, and bladder is also discussed.

This volume reviews the latest research on the functional implications of nuclear, chromosomal and genomic organization and architecture on cell and organismal biology, and development and progression of diseases. The architecture of the cell nucleus and non-random arrangement of chromosomes, genes, and the non-membranous nuclear bodies in the three-dimensional (3D) space alters in response to the environmental, mechanical, chemical, and temporal cues. The changes in the nuclear, chromosomal, or genomic compaction and configuration modify the gene expression program and induce or inhibit epigenetic modifications. The intrinsically programmed rearrangements of the nuclear architecture are necessary for cell differentiation, the establishment of cell fate during development and maturation of tissues and organs including the immune, muscle, and nervous systems. The non-programmed changes in the nuclear architecture can lead to fragmentation of the nucleus and instability of the genome and thus cause cancer. Microbial and viral infections can lead to a clustering of centromeres, telomeres and ribosomal DNA and alter the properties of the nuclear membrane, allowing large immobile macromolecules to enter the nucleus. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing technologies combined with nucleus/chromosome conformation capture, super-resolution imaging, chromosomal contact maps methods, integrative modeling, and genetic approaches, are uncovering novel features and importance of nuclear, chromosomal and genomic architecture. This book is an interesting read for cell biologists, researchers studying the structure and function of chromosomes, and anyone else who wants to get an overview of the field of nuclear, chromosomal and genomic architecture.