A first-principles quantitative framework for how cohesin regulators shape chromatin loop extrusion

In this issue of Cell Genomics, Tortora and Fudenberg develop a first-principles framework in which loop extrusion is quantitatively regulated by multiple cohesin-associated factors, giving rise to "bursty extrusion." This model predicts regulator-dependent changes in motor kinetics, chromatin contact patterns, and chromosome-scale morphology across spatial scales, providing a mechanistically grounded basis for quantitative modeling of 3D genome architecture.