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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Deciphering Molecular Mechanism of Histone Assembly by DNA Curtain Technique
Published on: March 9, 2022
DNA packing in chromatine, a manifestation of the Bonnet transformation
Abstract:
The packing of DNA is described using the formalism of differential geometry. Winding of the DNA double helix around the histone 2-5 octamer forming a nucleosome and the condensation of the so-formed bead-on-a-string chromatine aided by histone 1 is interpreted as two consecutive isometric, i.e. Bonnet, transformations. The DNA double helix can be approximated to a helicoid which can be transformed isometrically to a catenoid, an approximation of the nucleosome. Owing to the organization of the histone octamer the extended chromatine takes a helicoidal shape allowing a second Bonnet transformation to consummate the condensation into a chromatine fibre.
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In combination with specialized DNA binding protein called Histones, the DNA double helix forms a compact DNA: protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin itself is further compacted into higher-order structures.
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The chromatin
In combination with specialized DNA binding protein called Histones, the DNA double helix forms a compact DNA: protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin itself is further compacted into higher-order structures.
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