heterochromatin Cytol.
(ˌhɛtərəʊˈkrəʊmətɪn)
[a. G. heterochromatin (E. Heitz 1928, in Jahrb. f. wissenschaftliche Bot. LXIX. 764), f. hetero- + chromatin.]
Heterochromatic chromosome material.
| 1932 [see euchromatin]. 1941 Ann. Bot. V. 203 Large distal segments which appear as heterochromatin in mitosis, that is to say they are overstained in resting nuclei and, after freezing, understained in metaphase. 1951 G. H. Bourne Cytol. & Cell Physiol. (ed. 2) v. 196 Probably there are many varieties of heterochromatin and euchromatin, constituting a continuous ‘spectrum’, to the two ends of which the terms heterochromatin and euchromatin are somewhat arbitrarily applied. 1969 Nature 16 Aug. 683/1 The observations that heterochromatin formation is a variable property and represents cyclical physiological states of chromosome segments..led to a shift of emphasis from heterochromatin as a substance to heterochromatin as a state. |