Chromosome Conformation Capture in Drosophila.

Linear chromatin fiber is packed inside the nuclei as a complex three-dimensional structure, and the organization of the chromatin has important roles in the appropriate spatial and temporal regulation of gene expression. To understand how chromatin organizes inside nuclei, and how regulatory proteins physically interact with genes, chromosome conformation capture (3C) technique provides a powerful and sensitive tool to detect both short- and long-range DNA-DNA interaction. Here I describe the 3C technique to detect the DNA-DNA interactions mediated by insulator proteins that are closely related to PcG in Drosophila, which is also broadly applicable to other systems.