Difference Between Heterochromatin and Euchromatin

Learning the difference between heterochromatin and euchromatin is a very important aspect of biology. Furthermore, in heterochromatin, the DNA happens to be condensed or tightly bound. In contrast, the DNA in euchromatin is compressed or lightly bound.

Definition of Heterochromatin

Heterochromatin refers to a form of chromatin whose packing takes place densely. Moreover, this is the main difference between heterochromatin and euchromatin as the latter has the characterization of light packing. Also, heterochromatin does not let the RNA and DNA polymerases to find their way in the DNA.

Definition of Euchromatin

Euchromatin refers to a form of chromatin whose packing takes place lightly in contrast to heterochromatin. Furthermore, the presence of euchromatin is almost always an indication that cells are active in a transcriptional manner. This means that they are transcribing DNA to mRNA in an active manner.

Difference between Heterochromatin and Euchromatin

Important difference between heterochromatin and euchromatin

Parameter	Heterochromatin	Euchromatin
Meaning	It is a form of DNA in the chromosome that has the characterization of tight packing	It is a form of DNA in the chromosome that has the characterization of loose packing
Type of stain	Dark stain	Light stain
Density of DNA	High density of DNA	Low density of DNA
Transcriptional activity	Little or no transcriptional activity here	There is the active participation of the transcriptional process here
Their presence	They exist at the periphery of the nucleus. Furthermore, they exist only in eukaryotic cells	They exist in the nucleus’s inner body. Furthermore, they exist in eukaryotic as well as prokaryotic cells
Molecular organization of euchromatin and heterochromatin	Coiling is compact, regions are sticky, there is no change in the phenotype of an organism, gene expression regulation is possible, and maintenance of the cell’s structural integrity	Coiling is loose, regions are non-sticky, variation may occur due to the effect in DNA at the time of the genetic process, genetic variations are possible, and genetic transcription takes place

FAQs About Heterochromatin and Euchromatin

Question 1: Give one difference between heterochromatin and euchromatin?

Answer 1: One difference between heterochromatin and euchromatin can be regarding their presence. Furthermore, heterochromatin exists at the nucleus’s periphery. In contrast, the euchromatin exists in the inner body of the nucleus.

Question 2: Explain in brief the difference between constitutive and facultative heterochromatin?

Answer 2: In spite of being quite similar, there is still some difference between constitutive and facultative heterochromatin. Constitutive heterochromatin has satellite DNA and is stable. In contrast, facultative heterochromatin has line sequences and is also reversible.