Our genome is like a long thread of wool that can be knitted or folded in 3D giving rise to different shapes. 3D folding is dynamic and tightly regulated by the cells. This is because, by making certain regions of the thread more compact or accessible, 3D gene folding regulates gene function. Yet, we lacked tools to understand how genes fold within the nucleus of our cells.
In this work, we developed a strategy to reveal how genes fold in 3D with unprecedented detail. We called it Modelling immuno-OligoSTORM or MiOS as it combines STORM super-resolution microscopy, sequencing-based data and modeling to generate 3D models of genes with nanometric resolution. Thus, MiOS can help researchers to virtually navigate inside genes, revealing how they are organised at a completely new scale and how this regulates function.
