ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER-LEVEL CHROMATIN STRUCTURES (CHROMOMERE, CHROMONEMA AND CHROMATIN BLOCK) EXAMINED USING VISIBLE LIGHT-INDUCED CHROMATIN PHOTO-STABILIZATION

The method of chromatin photo-stabilization by the action of visible light in the presence of ethidium bromide was used for investigation of higher-level chromatin structures in isolated nuclei. As a model we used rat hepatocyte nuclei isolated in buffers which stabilized or destabilized nuclear matrix. Several higher-level chromatin structures were visualized: 100 nm globules—chromomeres, chains of chromomeres—chromonemata, aggregates of chromomeres—blocks of condensed chromatin. All these structures were completely destroyed by 2 M NaCl extraction independent of the matrix state, and DNA was extruded from the residual nuclei (nuclear matrices) into a halo. These results show that nuclear …