Choesin: putting the brakes on the genome’s folding motor

Inside the cell nucleus, two meters of DNA strand are folded into a highly organised structure by cohesin, a protein complex that shapes and regulates the genome by forming DNA loops. To function properly, this loop-building activity must be precisely controlled. Scientists in the lab of IMP Scientific Director Jan-Michael Peters have now discovered how cells put brakes on this process. Their findings, which reveal a key mechanism of genome organisation, were now published in the journal Molecular Cell.