About this Research Topic
Chromatin plays a central role in the maintenance and propagation of the genetic information in eukaryotic cells, and affects the access, expression, duplication, and repair of the genome through interacting with numerous molecular players within the cell nucleus. In addition to their biochemistry, the organization and dynamics of these molecular interactions in space and time are often crucial in regulating the outcomes of chromatin-based transactions. Misregulation of such organizational dynamics can lead to cellular malfunctions implicated in various human diseases. The last decade has seen wide-ranging advances in imaging-based approaches for probing the complex spatiotemporal organization and dynamics of chromatin within the highly crowded cell nucleus, with unprecedented resolution, sensitivity, and complexity. These studies have contributed to novel mechanistic paradigms for cell nuclear processes, architecture and functions
This Research Topic aims to provide a broad overview of key recent developments in imaging-based strategies for quantitatively probing multi-scale chromatin organization and dynamics both in vitro and in vivo, as well as novel computational image analysis methods for decoding the spatiotemporal patterns inherent in such organizational dynamics. In addition, novel insights into the biochemistry, biophysics, and pathology of chromatin-based nuclear processes revealed by these approaches will be highlighted throughout this Research Topic.
Areas to be covered (in both original research articles and comprehensive reviews) include, but are not limited to:
• Chromatin structure and architecture
• Live-cell chromatin dynamics
• Chromatin-based molecular interactions (e.g. transcription, replication, DNA repair, etc.)
• Single-molecule/single-cell imaging approaches
• Super-resolution nanoscopy
• Spatial genomics and transcriptomics
• Phase separation and intranuclear compartmentalization
• Epigenetics
• Chromatin misregulation in diseases (e.g. developmental disorders, cancer, etc.)
• Novel imaging techniques, probes, and labeling strategies
• Novel computational strategies for quantitative data analysis
Doctors Chen Kok Hao and Winston Zhao hold a patent related to Nucleic acid probes. All other members of the Editorial Team declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic.
This Research Topic aims to provide a broad overview of key recent developments in imaging-based strategies for quantitatively probing multi-scale chromatin organization and dynamics both in vitro and in vivo, as well as novel computational image analysis methods for decoding the spatiotemporal patterns inherent in such organizational dynamics. In addition, novel insights into the biochemistry, biophysics, and pathology of chromatin-based nuclear processes revealed by these approaches will be highlighted throughout this Research Topic.
Areas to be covered (in both original research articles and comprehensive reviews) include, but are not limited to:
• Chromatin structure and architecture
• Live-cell chromatin dynamics
• Chromatin-based molecular interactions (e.g. transcription, replication, DNA repair, etc.)
• Single-molecule/single-cell imaging approaches
• Super-resolution nanoscopy
• Spatial genomics and transcriptomics
• Phase separation and intranuclear compartmentalization
• Epigenetics
• Chromatin misregulation in diseases (e.g. developmental disorders, cancer, etc.)
• Novel imaging techniques, probes, and labeling strategies
• Novel computational strategies for quantitative data analysis
Doctors Chen Kok Hao and Winston Zhao hold a patent related to Nucleic acid probes. All other members of the Editorial Team declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic.
Keywords: chromatin organization, gene expression, fluorescence microscopy, single-cell imaging, computational image analysis
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
