Here’s how cells rapidly stuff two meters of DNA into microscopic capsules
Two proteins form loops and a spiral helix that facilitate speedy packing
PACK IT UP Before dividing, a cell bundles each of its chromosomes (gray and colored strings in this simulation of a single chromosome) into a tightly-packed, orderly cylinder. A protein that creates a central, spiral scaffold (red links) is partly responsible for the efficient packing, a new study finds.
A. Goloborodko and J. Gibcus, with input from K. Samejima, B. Earnshaw, L. Mirny and J. Dekker