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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

Loop extrusion: theory meets single-molecule experiments.

Edward J Banigan¹, Leonid A Mirny¹

¹Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139 MA, USA.

Current Opinion in Cell Biology

|June 14, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) complexes like condensin and cohesin directly extrude DNA loops. These motor proteins function using ATP hydrolysis, with asymmetric extrusion by condensin and symmetric extrusion by cohesin.

Keywords:

Chromatin Chromosomes Cohesin Condensin Loop extrusion Molecular motors Nuclear organization Polymers SMC Simulations Single-molecule experiments

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Last Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

Use of Dual Optical Tweezers and Microfluidics for Single-Molecule Studies

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Published on: November 18, 2022

Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions

Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions

Published on: August 27, 2014

Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Genomics
Biochemistry

Background:

Chromosomes organize into chromatin loops essential for genomic functions like segregation and enhancer-promoter interactions.
Loop formation was hypothesized to occur via loop extrusion by Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) complexes, but direct observation was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

To directly visualize and characterize the DNA loop extrusion activity of SMC complexes.
To investigate the mechanistic details and functional requirements of loop extrusion by condensin and cohesin.

Main Methods:

Single-molecule experiments were employed to directly image DNA loop extrusion in vitro.
Experiments measured extrusion rates, force dependence, and the requirement for ATP hydrolysis.

Main Results:

Direct observation confirmed rapid (kb/s) DNA loop extrusion by condensin and cohesin, dependent on ATP hydrolysis.
Condensin exhibited asymmetric loop extrusion, contrary to previous models.
Cohesin-mediated loop extrusion was observed to be symmetric and dependent on the protein Nipbl.

Conclusions:

SMC complexes function as DNA loop extruding motors, providing direct mechanistic insight into chromatin organization.
The distinct extrusion mechanisms of condensin and cohesin suggest specialized roles in genome regulation.
These findings advance our understanding of how SMC complexes contribute to higher-order chromatin structure and function in vivo.