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Ultrastructural Continuity between Active and Repressed Chromatin

Nature volume 205, pages 1341–1342 (1965)Cite this article

Abstract

DURING metaphase and anaphase of cell mitosis, mammalian chromosomes are highly condensed, individually distinct, and relatively inert in ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis1–5. By late telophase, the chromosomes become less condensed, appear less distinct from each other, and begin the synthesis of RNA1–5. By early interphase, all distinction between individual chromosomes is lost, and the chromosomal substance is visible either as condensed masses (chromocentres, heterochromatin) of repressed chromatin6,7, or as extended microfibrils (euchromatin) of chromatin actively synthesizing RNA6,7.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Rockefeller Institute, New York

    JOHN H. FRENSTER

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  1. JOHN H. FRENSTER
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FRENSTER, J. Ultrastructural Continuity between Active and Repressed Chromatin. Nature 205, 1341–1342 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/2051341a0

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