The genome is organized into domains of different structure and activity. At a local level, genomic regions of similar activity harbor a shared chromatin composition, termed chromatin state. At larger scales, chromatin is organized into structural and/or activity domains. It is clear that the domain organization of the genome regulates its activity, yet we do not have a good understanding of domain properties and the factors that influence their formation. We are investigating these questions using chromatin state mapping, Hi-C, and other techniques. Through chromatin state mapping, we have found that the genome is organized into extended domains of active and inactive chromatin separated by border regions. We are investigating the function and generation of these domains, the higher order structure of chromosomes, and the factors that control structure.
