In search of the mechanism that shapes the neutrophil's nucleus.

The organization of the genome within the confines of the nuclear compartment is considered a key contributor to transcription and DNA replication, repair, and recombination. A typical higher eukaryotic cell has a spherical nucleus that is ∼10 µm in diameter. This is not the case for a neutrophil, a short-lived innate immune cell with an unusual multilobular nuclear structure that may serve purposes outside nuclear functions. In this issue of Genes & Development , Zhu and colleagues (pp. 141-153) investigate the neutrophil's genome organization and the mechanisms that contribute to its unique nuclear shape.