It's not all that magical. Start with a chromosome - a long string of DNA. It replicates. Now there are two long strings of DNA, held together at the centromere by specific proteins that recognize specific DNA sequences at the centromere. This DNA is wrapped around histones, but is still largely decondensed. Eventually, the chromosome will condense, as other proteins wrap up the histone-bound DNA in various ways. That's what creates the X shape (though, of course, the centromere can be anywhere on the chromosome, so it doesn't always look like a perfect X): two condensed strands of DNA, held together at the centromere.What directs linear DNA to form chromosomes with perfect X shapes with a centromere?
When DNA is in the shape of an X, that is actually a chromosome that has replicated. (So it is actually 2 chromosomes).
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