Posted: Jun 06, 2012 10:36 pm
Well I'd say that is fairly trivial. Observations are showing that these chromosomes are not static substances but move and interact in precise ways and there are some really interesting questions being asked as shown here
Actually, local interactions aren't necessarily incompatible with the equilibrium-based spontaneous organisation model that has been proposed. For instance, such interactions could quite simply be altering equilbrium, and consequently the organisation that forms. There is already evidence that nucleosome modifications can affect conformation, either directly (histone acetylation) or by recruitment of proteins that distort original structures (histone methylation) for instance and I wouldn't be surprised if the effects of chromosome kissing contribute in some way to altered conformation of chromatin locally, and consequently, which territories they seem to occupy.