Nuclear location and the control of developmental progression

It is now well established that the mammalian genome is highly organized. Chromosomes are structured as territories that only sporadically intermingle. Chromosome territories themselves are segregated into distinct environments, that is, the transcriptionally inert/repressive (heterochromatic) and permissive (euchromatic) compartments. The transcriptionally permissive compartment is organized into domains (∼0.5-3 Mb) that consist of bundles of loops, are gene-rich and closely associated by activating epigenetic marks. During ontogeny and developmental progression chromatin states are highly dynamic. Recent studies have shown that loci and domains readily switch compartments. Switching nuclear neighborhoods is closely associated with changes in transcriptional activity and extensive chromatin reorganization. Here we discuss the implications of a dynamic genome and how it relates to the control of developmental progression.