FACTS AND PARADOXES IN CURRENT NOTIONS OF NUCLEAR-ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION

Invisible compartments, identified rather by their activities than by their morphology, seem to operate in the nucleus. These compartments i nterrelate somehow, including mediation by the nuclear matrix. As our knowledge about the nucleus increases, more paradoxes become evident. We here consider some of them: 1) the well-known C-paradox of Cavalier -Smith, concerning the disproportionate amount of nuclear DNA content in comparison with the amount of DNA potentially able to transcribe; 2 ) the DNA folding in the chromatin fibre and its superorganization wit hin the nucleus, which seems to be in opposition with the transcribing and self-replicating activities; 3) the elusive role of the DNA seque nces with different degrees of repetitivity; and 4) the compartmentali zation in the nucleus and how it relates to transcription, processing and transport of transcripts, and to DNA reduplication. We conclude by introducing the concept of species specific, minimal, but essential g enome components, i.e. the elusive few thousand DNA bases that, in our hypothesis, act as a functional bridge between the nuclear matrix and chromatin.