Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Mar;27(1-2):109-127.
doi: 10.1007/s10577-018-9600-5. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Ribosomal DNA and the nucleolus in the context of genome organization

Tamara A Potapova  1 , Jennifer L Gerton  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Ribosomal DNA and the nucleolus in the context of genome organization

Tamara A Potapova et al. Chromosome Res. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

The nucleolus constitutes a prominent nuclear compartment, a membraneless organelle that was first documented in the 1830s. The fact that specific chromosomal regions were present in the nucleolus was recognized by Barbara McClintock in the 1930s, and these regions were termed nucleolar organizing regions, or NORs. The primary function of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is to produce RNA components of ribosomes. Yet, ribosomal DNA also plays a pivotal role in nuclear organization by assembling the nucleolus. This review is focused on the rDNA and associated proteins in the context of genome organization. Recent advances in understanding chromatin organization suggest that chromosomes are organized into topological domains by a DNA loop extrusion process. We discuss the perspective that rDNA may also be organized in topological domains constrained by structural maintenance of chromosome protein complexes such as cohesin and condensin. Moreover, biophysical studies indicate that the nucleolar compartment may be formed by active processes as well as phase separation, a perspective that lends further insight into nucleolar organization. The application of the latest perspectives and technologies to this organelle help further elucidate its role in nuclear structure and function.

Keywords: Chromatin; Cohesin; Condensin; Genome organization; Nucleolus; Topoisomerase; UBF; rDNA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Hum Genet. 1976 Dec 29;35(1):27-34 - PubMed
    1. J Cell Biol. 1999 Sep 20;146(6):1211-26 - PubMed
    1. J Cell Biol. 2000 May 15;149(4):811-24 - PubMed
    1. Genome Res. 2000 Oct;10(10):1445-52 - PubMed
    1. J Cell Biol. 2000 Nov 27;151(5):1047-56 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources