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Journal of Cell Science, Vol 7, 35-48, Copyright © 1970 by Company of Biologists

Submitted on January 2, 1970

Electron-Microscope Observations on the Structure of Condensed Chromatin: Evidence for Orderly Arrays of Unit Threads on the Surface of Chicken Erythrocyte Nuclei

A. C. EVERID 1, J. V. SMALL 2, and H. G. DAVIES 1

1 Medical Research Council Biophysics Unit, Department of Biophysics, King's College, 26-29 Drury Lane, London, W.C.2, England
2 Medical Research Council Biophysics Unit, Department of Biophysics, King's College, 26-29 Drury Lane, London, W.C.2, England; Institute of Biophysics, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark

A unit thread has been identified by electron microscopy as the common structural element in the condensed chromatin of a variety of cell nuclei. From the previous studies of thin sections normal to the nuclear envelope it was concluded that the unit thread, of diameter about 17 nm but varying somewhat depending on fixation, packed with spacings of about 28 nm on the surface of the nucleus to form one or more layers. Thin sections tangential to the nuclear envelope, described in this paper, reveal directly the degree of order within the surface layer; there are small areas or patches in which the units are regularly arranged. Units are also orderly arranged around the pores in the nuclear envelope. Unit threads are less easily visible in electron micrographs of mature erythrocytes than at earlier stages of development but the clarity with which they can be seen is increased by a brief treatment prior to fixation with sodium citrate.

Submitted on January 2, 1970




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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 1970