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3D GENOMICS

A genome disconnect

Nature Genetics volume 51, pages 1205–1206 (2019)Cite this article

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Chromatin loops and domains are major organizational hallmarks of chromosomes. New work suggests, however, that these topological features of the genome are poor global predictors of gene activity, raising questions about their function.

Genomes are complexly organized in three-dimensional space. The intricate spatial architecture of the genome is reflected in prominent topological features such as blocks of heterochromatin and euchromatin, chromatin domains and chromatin loops. It seems intuitive that these major structural elements would play critical roles in the control of genome function and gene activity, and observations on individual genes have provided evidence for this hypothesis. However, in the current issue, Ghavi-Helm et al.1 have probed this structure–function relationship more globally and have found a disconnect between architectural features of genomes and gene activity, suggesting that topology may be less of a driver of gene activity than is commonly assumed.

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Fig. 1: Using balancer chromosomes to probe the relationship between genome architecture and function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Elizabeth H. Finn & Tom Misteli

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  1. Elizabeth H. Finn
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  2. Tom Misteli
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Correspondence to Tom Misteli.

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Finn, E.H., Misteli, T. A genome disconnect. Nat Genet 51, 1205–1206 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0476-x

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