chromatin

[ kroh-muh-tin ]

nounCell Biology.

the readily stainable substance of a cell nucleus, consisting of DNA, RNA, and various proteins, that forms chromosomes during cell division.

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chromatin vs. chromosome chromatin vs. chromatid

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Origin of chromatin

First recorded in 1880–85; chromat- + -in²

Other words from chromatin

chro·ma·tin·ic, adjective
chro·ma·toid, adjective

Words Nearby chromatin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use chromatin in a sentence

So it’s not only that genes are being turned on and off, it’s also that this changing of the open or closed chromatin is helping regulate the expression of these important genes for regeneration.
Hydras can regrow their heads. Scientists want to know how they do it. | Kate Baggaley | December 8, 2021 | Popular-Science
That’s when Marco realized that the architectural changes to the chromatin were preparing the cells to reinforce the memories when they were recalled.
Brain Cell DNA Refolds Itself to Aid Memory Recall | Elena Renken | November 2, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
There’s much more to learn about these changes in chromatin architecture.
Brain Cell DNA Refolds Itself to Aid Memory Recall | Elena Renken | November 2, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
Malarial parasites stain characteristically: the cytoplasm, sky-blue; the chromatin, reddish-purple.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
Typical "segmenters" present a ring of rounded segments or spores, each with a small, dot-like chromatin mass.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd

Half the chromatin material passes into each of the two cells formed.
Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard
Thus sex is inherited, like other characters, by the action of the chromatin material of the cell nucleus.
Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard
When the cell is resting, the chromatin is dispersed through the nucleus in a mass of broken lines, forming a kind of network.
Parallel Paths | Thomas William Rolleston

British Dictionary definitions for chromatin

chromatin

/ (ˈkrəʊmətɪn) /

noun

cytology the part of the nucleus that consists of DNA and proteins, forms the chromosomes, and stains with basic dyes: See also euchromatin, heterochromatin

Derived forms of chromatin

chromatinic, adjective
chromatoid, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for chromatin

chromatin

[ krō′mə-tĭn ]

The substance distributed in the nucleus of a cell that condenses to form chromosomes during cell division. It consists mainly of DNA and proteins called histones.

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