Chapter five - Future Prospects

Abstract

The importance of understanding the structure of chromatin and chromosomes in order to understand function is now well-established. Nevertheless, there are still large gaps in the present knowledge. Very little is known about chromatin structure beyond the nucleosome itself. Even less is known about the dynamics of higher order structures and how they might be compartmentalized within the chromosome and the nucleus. These features of nuclear organization have been implicated in numerous epigenetic effects in plants, animals, and humans. At this time, most of these observations are phenomenological with little foundation in molecular mechanism. It is necessary to know how the chromosome-organizing complexes and molecular machines that utilize chromatin as a substrate are compartmentalized in the nucleus. There is little known about the dynamics and movement of chromatin domains within the nucleus and how this might reflect different functional states. Their importance in connecting basic research with problems of biotechnological and medical relevance provides a wealth of opportunity for a new generation of scientists.