Overview
My Field of Study: Chromatin Architecture
My research career has involved multiple different fields and countless questions. My area of expertise though is that which I worked on for the larger part of my PhD: Genomics. Specifically, my PhD thesis examined genetic aspects of the development of an aggressive brain cancer, Glioblastoma. Much of my PhD work remains to be published. It involves looking at DNA folding or chromatin architecture.
What is chromatin?
Chromatin is the scientific term used for the ensembl of DNA and its associated proteins.
What is chromatin architecture?
Chromatin architecture is the study of how the chromatin folds inside the cell. Chromatin consists of the genome (DNA) and its associated proteins. In each of your cells, there are two copies of the human genome, a copy from each parent. Each of those is roughly ~ 3.3 x 109 basepairs. Each basepair is 0.34 nm long.
(3.3 x 109) bases/copy x 2 copies x (0.34 x 10-9) m/base = 2.24 meters
So stretched end to end, the genomic DNA content of a single cell is ~ 2.24 meters long, yet it is housed in the cell nucleus which is on the order of a few µm in diameter. So how do you fit a two meter long string in a sphere a few µm in diameter? It must be folded to fit. The field of science that studies how the cell folds its genome is called chromatin architecture.
Why does chromatin architecture matter?
Chromatin architecture, as we have recently discovered, is one of life’s tools for creating diversity.
Here is the breakdown:
There are many living species on planet earth (estimated ~ 8 million).
Each species has many individuals with distinct characteristics (facial features, height, susceptibility to disease…).
Taking our species as an example, each human has about 200 distinct cell types, each of which goes through various stages across time.
So the question becomes: what defines all this diversity? How is it coded and how is it transmitted?
The answer is a combination of nature (DNA) and nurture (environment), but much of what creates the blueprint is DNA/chromatin.
If we take the case of the 200 distinct cell types that make YOU, all those share the same DNA sequence. So how do the 3 billion basepaires of DNA create so many different states? We are learning that how the DNA is folded inside the cell is part of the puzzle. DNA folding can activate certain DNA blocks and silence others. It is an exciting field of research that leverages genomics, computation and cell biology.
For software developers, here is the metaphore:
My field of interest ponders how a piece of code, 3 billion letters long, can create 200 different cell types that work cohesively together in larger heirarchical systems (organs/body) and change states across time to create the wonder that is YOU!
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