The genetic material found in the nucleus of a cell. It consists of PROTEIN and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). During mitotic division of the cell, chromatin condenses into CHROMOSOMES.
n. the material of a cell nucleus that stains with basic dyes and consists of DNA and protein: the substance of which the chromosomes are made. See euchromatin; heterochromatin.
*chromatin found only in female cells and believed to represent a single X chromosome in a nondividing cell. It can be used to discover the sex of a baby before birth by examination of cells obtained by *amniocentesis or *chorionic villus sampling. There are two main kinds: (1) the Barr body, a small object that stains with basic dyes, found on the edge of the nucleus just inside the nuclear membrane; (2) a drumstick-like appendage to the nucleus in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell).... sex chromatin
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