Super-resolution imaging of nuclear organization

DNA is packaged inside the nucleus in the form of chromatin. DNA wraps around an octamer of histone proteins in two-turns, forming the nucleosome, the repeating unit of the chromatin. Further compaction is facilitated by linker histones and folding of the chromatin fiber into higher order structures. While the organization of chromatin inside the nucleus is highly important for its function in gene expression and in determining cellular phenotype, visualizing this organization is extremely challenging in the cellular context. We are developing quantitative super-resolution microscopy methods to overcome this limitation and study the intimate link between chromatin structure and its function in diverse cellular processes.