The Cell Nucleus

1. The Cell Nucleus

2. The evolutional significance • The formation of nucleus was an essential event in evolution. Containing nucleus or not is an important difference between eucaryotic cells and procaryotic cells. • Nucleus prevent DNA from being damaged by enzymes in cytosol and make the performance of gene transcription and translation in different times and spaces.

3. Topics • Chromatin and chromosome • Structure of nucleus • The Transport of Molecules into and out of the Nucleus • Nucleolus and the assemblage of ribosome

4. What you should know when finish • The form of genetic information in cell and what they are looking like before transcription and replication. • The precise scheme of nuclear • Features of nuclear pores • Location signal • Ribosome-producing machine and production of ribosome.

5. Chromatin and chromosome • Stainable material of interphase nucleus consisting of nucleic acid and associated basic protein called chromatin, which is dispersed through much of the nucleus. Further folding and compaction of chromatin during mitosis produces the visible metaphase chromosomes.

6. Epithelial cell and Hela cell epithelial cell Hela cell

7. Kinds of chromatin • Euchromatin and heterochromatin • Euchromatin is loosely packed and accessible to RNA polymerases, whereas heterochromatin is highly condensed and probably transcriptionally inactive.

8. Chemical components of chromatin DNA • Each DNA molecule forms chromosome must contain three functional elements in order to replicate and segregate correctly: replication origins(several), the centromere(one), telomeres(two).

9. replication origins at which DNA polymerases and other proteins initiate synthesis of DNA. centromere attachs any chromosome that contains it to mitotic spindle during M phase and guarantees the proper separation of chromosomes. telomeres permit a linear chromosome to be completely replicated.

10. three functional elements

11. Replication fork

13. Histone • The most abundant proteins associated with eukaryotic DNA. • Five major types of histone proteins termed H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 • Rich in positively charged basic amino acids • Conserved proteins except for H1 • Nucleosomal histones and H1 histone

14. Modification of histone influence chromatin structure participate in the regulation of transcription (1)acetylation and deacetylation Lys ε-NH2 the greater the acetylation, the less chromatin condensation

15. (2)methylation Lys ε-NH2, Arg a process that pevents acetylation (3) phosphorylation Ser and Thr hydroxy introducing a negative charge

16. Nonhiston • Rich in acid amino acids • Provide a structural scaffold for long chromatin loop • Others: Transcription and replication factor HMG (high-mobility group) protein

18. Packing of chromosome

19. Primery Structure of Chromosome — nucleosome

20. Structure • protein core＋DNA with diameter of 10nm • The core is an octamer containing two copies each of histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. • 147bp DNA protein core 60bp linker DNA • beads-on-a-string form.

21. The DNA component of nucleosomes is much less than is the linker DNA susceptible to nuclease digestion between them.

22. nucleosome

23. Histone tail

24. Secondary Structure of Chromosome — Solenoid of nucleosomes • approximately six nucleosomes per turn with a diameter of 30nm.

25. Solenoid model

26. The chromatin in chromosomal regions that are not being transcribed exists predominantly in the condensed, 30-nm fiber form. The regions of chromatin actively being transcribed are thought to assume the extended beads-on-a-string form.

27. Tertiary Structure — Folded solenoid • 30-nm chromatin fiber attach to chromatin scaffold

28. Quaternary Structure — Chromatid

29. Process of packing

30. DNA ladder

31. Structure of nucleus

32. nuclear envelope • outer membrane is continuous with ER and studded with ribosomes engaged in protein synthesis. • inner membrane contains specific proteins that act as binding sites for the nuclear lamina • inner and outer nuclear membranes are continuous, but maintain distinct protein compositions.

33. perinuclear space

34. nuclear lamina • a meshwork composed by nuclear lamins A,B,C (a class of intermediate filaments) • give shape and stability to the nuclear envelope • provide anchor sites of chromatin • phosphorylation of the nuclear lamins cause the nuclear lamina depolymerize

37. nuclear pore complex • pore complex contains one or more open aqueous channels (9nm in diameter and 15 nm long) through which water-soluble molecules that are smaller than a certain size can passively diffuse. Large molecules, such as DNA and RNA polymerases, ribosomal subunits, are actively transported.

39. Diagram of NPC

40. NPC

42. Peering through the NPC

44. nucleolus • three partially segregated regions can be distinguished : (1) a pale-staining fibrillar center, which contains DNA that is not being actively transcribed;

45. (2) a dense fibrillar component, which contains RNA molecules in the process of being synthesized (3) a granular component, which contains maturing ribosomal precursor particles.

47. Nucleolus are formed by the fusion of RNA,rDNA and ribonucleoprotein coming from nucleolar organizing region. • nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) are chromosomal fragments, located in certain chromosome(13,14,15,21,22), containing the gene of major RNA (18S,28S,5.8S).

48. The size of the nucleolus reflects its transcriptional activity. Its size therefore varies greatly in different cells and can change in a single cell.

50. nuclear matrix • matrix might help organize chromosomes, localize genes, and regulate DNA transcription and replication within the nucleus.