The paper “Multi-scale architecture of archaeal chromosomes” by Naomichi Takemata and Steve Bell in the journal Molecular Cell describes chromosome conformation studies in archaea.
Archaea are single-celled prokaryotic organisms similar to bacteria structurally but possess distinct molecular characteristics that separate them from bacteria. The paper reveals that archaeal chromosomes have multiple levels of organization, ranging from mega-base-pair compartments through more local “chromosome interaction domains” to loop structures.
The multiscale nature of structures within structures is reminiscent of the famous verse “Siphonaptera” by British mathematician Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871):
Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.
And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on;
While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on.
Hence, the cover image.
Bell is a professor of biology and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington. Takemata is a former postdoctoral researcher in the Bell lab.
The College of Arts