Non-random domain organization of the Arabidopsis genome at the nuclear periphery

Chromatin in the nucleus is not randomly arranged. In animal cells, studies have identified an enrichment for non-genic or silenced DNA near the nuclear envelope, as demonstrated by its association with the nuclear lamin proteins. Plants don’t have proteins like animal lamins, but a few envelope-associated proteins have been identified. Bi et al. used a modified chromatin-immunoprecipitation method to identify genomic regions associated with a protein that accumulates at the nuclear envelope, NUP1 (fused to GFP). The authors found that, similar to findings from animal cells, the nuclear periphery is enriched for repressed chromatin, although there are some interesting and notable exceptions. Genome Bio. 10.1101/gr.215186.116