Image-Based Analysis of the Genome's Fractality During the Cell Cycle.

The human genome consists of about 2 m of DNA packed inside the cell nucleus barely 10 μm in diameter. DNA is complexed with histones, forming chromatin fiber, which folds inside the nucleus into loops, TADs, A/B compartments and chromosome territories. This organization is knot-free and self-similar across length scales, leading to a hypothesis that the genome presents a fractal globule, which was corroborated by chromosome conformation capture experiments.