The primary goal of this Priority Programme is to dissect the structure-to-function relationship of the genomes of higher metazoans at high spatio-temporal resolution in study systems relevant to genome integrity, development or disease. The programme aims at bringing together a critical mass of research groups to undertake functional and mechanistic studies in vitro and in vivo, using model systems and human samples, to deepen the understanding of how spatial genome architecture crosstalks with the aforementioned processes.