Assembly and micromanipulation of Xenopus in vitro-assembled mitotic chromosomes

Mitotic chromosomes have fascinated scientists for several decades. Despite the numerous microscopy studies, chromosome structure is, however, still poorly understood. This is due to both the high complexity of the mitotic chromosomes and the lack of other appropriate techniques suitable for studyin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Current protocols in cell biology Vol. Chapter 22; p. Unit 22.9
Main Authors:	Almagro, Sébastien, Dimitrov, Stefan
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States 01-04-2005
Subjects:	Animals Cell Extracts - analysis Cell Extracts - isolation & purification Chromosomes - ultrastructure Elasticity Elasticity Imaging Techniques Female Male Micromanipulation - instrumentation Micromanipulation - methods Microscopy - instrumentation Microscopy - methods Mitosis Oocytes - cytology Oocytes - ultrastructure Spindle Apparatus Xenopus laevis
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Summary:	Mitotic chromosomes have fascinated scientists for several decades. Despite the numerous microscopy studies, chromosome structure is, however, still poorly understood. This is due to both the high complexity of the mitotic chromosomes and the lack of other appropriate techniques suitable for studying their organization. This unit describes a novel physical approach based on measurements of mitotic chromosome elasticity. The elasticity properties are determined by the underlying structure, and knowledge of them has allowed a description of the organization of the mitotic chromosomes and critical analysis of the available models. In this unit, a detailed protocol for the measurements of the elastic response of in vitro assembled mitotic chromosomes in Xenopus egg extract is presented.
ISSN:	1934-2616
DOI:	10.1002/0471143030.cb2209s26