Chromatin
- Eukaryotic chromosomes are housed in a distinct cellular structure known as the nucleus.
- To fit DNA into the nucleus, a significant amount of its length must be compressed.
- The binding of DNA to numerous different cellular proteins results in the compacting of DNA.
- The packing is finished by the nucleoprotein complex known as chromatin, a highly structured DNA-protein complex.
- Chromatin is a dynamic structure that can change during a cell’s lifetime in terms of both form and composition (cell cycle).
- At the metaphase stage, chromosomes are extremely condensed, and during interphase, very dispersed structures are present.
Chromosome
Single-stranded collections of compacted chromatin make up chromosomes. Chromosomes replicate during the cell division processes of mitosis and meiosis to guarantee that each new daughter cell has the appropriate amount of chromosomes. A duplicated chromosome bears the well-known X shape and is double-stranded. The centromere is a central area where the two strands are linked and are of equal length.
Chromatid
A chromatid can be one of a replicated chromosome’s two strands. Sister chromatids are chromatids connected by a centromere. Sister chromatids split at the conclusion of cell division to create daughter chromosomes in the newly created daughter cells.
What is Chromatin?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a polymer made of two polynucleotide chains that coil around one another to form a double helix and which contains the genetic material necessary for all known creatures, including many viruses, to develop, function, grow, and reproduce. Nucleic acids include DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Nucleic acids are one of the four main categories of macromolecules that are necessary for all known forms of life, along with proteins, lipids, and complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides).