Speaker Bios:
Dr. Amanda Souza Câmara is a biophysicist. She did her PhD in Brazil at the University of São Paulo in computational modelling of protein structure and dynamics. Moving to a do a postdoc in Germany at the Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), she entered the world of plant genetics and genomics. Now she works on modelling of chromosomes compaction mechanisms.
Summary:
Barley is the first organism to have the organization of its mitotic chromosomes depicted by chromosome conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C) and oligonucleotides fluorescence in situ hybridization (oligo-FISH). These two state-of-the-art techniques convincingly argue for a helical organization that has been on debate for more than a century. Their results come together with a polymer model that compares to the few animal species with published Hi-C data, but with some discrepancies. This model conveys a general coiling mechanism that should flexibly admit the diversified shapes of monocentric mitotic chromosomes across eukaryotic species.