Editing Barr body (section)

=== 1928 - Foundational Research ===
The discovery of the Barr body was based on the research of geneticist [[Emil Heitz]] studying the dynamics of moss chromatin during mitosis.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=Galupa |first1=Rafael |last2=Heard |first2=Edith |date=2018-11-23 |title=X-Chromosome Inactivation: A Crossroads Between Chromosome Architecture and Gene Regulation |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-genet-120116-024611 |journal=Annual Review of Genetics |language=en |volume=52 |issue= |pages=535–566 |doi=10.1146/annurev-genet-120116-024611 |pmid=30256677 |issn=0066-4197}}</ref> Heitz distinguished between heterochromatin and [[euchromatin]], noting that certain regions of some chromosomes (and in some instances, entire chromosomes) retained their staining following mitosis.<ref name=":10" /> This retained staining is indicative of condensed chromatin which he hypothesized, in the absence of mitosis, reflects silent regions of chromosomes (heterochromatin).<ref name=":10" />