We would like to be able to predict how genomes are folded in the cell from the primary DNA sequence. A model for the three-dimensional structure of all genomes is presented; it is based on

the structure of the bacterial nucleoid, where RNA polymerases cluster and loop the DNA. Loops appear and disappear as polymerases initiate and terminate, but the microscopic structure is

'self-organizing' and, to some extent, predictable. At the macroscopic level, transcriptional activity drives pairing between homologous sequences, inactivity allows genome

compaction, and the segregation machinery orients whole chromosomes. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

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thank the Wellcome Trust for support and A. Pombo and M. Lloyd for providing figures and software. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Sir William Dunn School of Pathology,

University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RE, UK Peter R. Cook Authors * Peter R. Cook View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS

AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Cook, P. Predicting three-dimensional genome structure from transcriptional activity. _Nat Genet_ 32, 347–352

(2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1102-347 Download citation * Received: 05 April 2002 * Accepted: 10 September 2002 * Issue Date: 01 November 2002 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1102-347

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