[Campbell Biology P.381] Which of the following statements best describes the difference bet... | Practice Question
Which of the following statements best describes the difference between euchromatin and heterochromatin?
A: Euchromatin is more compacted and largely inaccessible for transcription, while heterochromatin is looser and actively transcribed.
B: Euchromatin is the less compacted, more dispersed interphase chromatin, accessible for transcription, whereas heterochromatin is denser, highly compacted, and largely inaccessible for transcription.
C: Heterochromatin is found only in centromeres and telomeres, while euchromatin is distributed throughout the nucleus.
D: Both euchromatin and heterochromatin are equally accessible to proteins responsible for transcription.
Explanation
The text explains that euchromatin is less compacted and more dispersed, allowing its DNA to be accessible for transcription. In contrast, heterochromatin is denser, highly compacted, and largely inaccessible to proteins responsible for transcription, which means genes in heterochromatin are generally not expressed.