Difference between Euchromatin and Heterochromatin

Difference between euchromatin and heterochromatin

First of all, it is important to understand the term chromatin because this word is common in both euchromatin and heterochromatin. What is chromatin? Chromatin is a complex of DNA, histones, and non-histone proteins. When chromatin is further condensed, it forms chromosomes. There are two basic types of chromatins: euchromatin and heterochromatin.

Euchromatin is that portion of the chromosome which is less condensed and light stained with a DNA-specific strain. Euchromatin is rich in genes and actively participate in the transcription process (formation of RNA from DNA). On the other hand, heterochromatin is that portion of the DNA which is highly condensed, less active and darkly stained with DNA-specific strain.

Let’s have a quick overview of the difference between euchromatin and heterochromatin:

Difference between euchromatin and heterochromatin

Euchromatin	Heterochromatin
Less condensed area of the chromosome	Highly condensed area of the chromosome
Light-stained with DNA-specific strain	Dark stained with DNA-specific strain
Easy to open – transcriptionally active	Difficult to open – transcriptionally inactive
Majority of euchromatin remain in decondensed state during interphase of the cell cycle	Majority of heterochromatin remain in condensed state even during interphase of the cell cycle
Present at the middle of the chromosome	Present mostly near to the centromere and telomere
During interphase, euchromatin are not condensed	During interphase, heterochromatin are compact