Single-Particle Tracking for Studying the Dynamic Properties of Genomic Regions in Live Cells

The appropriate functioning of living cells depends on a variety of dynamic processes that necessitate delicate motion, transportation, association, and disassociation in time and space. Different dynamic patterns such as directed motion, normal diffusion, and restricted diffusion take part at different length scales, and their identification serves as a tool for exploring biochemical processes. Here we describe single-particle tracking which is a powerful method that allows the characterization of dynamic processes on the single-molecule or single-particle level with nanometer spatial and sub-second temporal precision. In particular, we describe the cell preparation procedures, microscopy imaging, and image analysis processes for following telomere dynamics in living mammalian cells.