Much work has been published on the cis-regulatory elements that affect gene function locally, as well as on the biochemistry of the transcription factors and chromatin- and histone-modifying ...complexes that influence gene expression. However, surprisingly little information is available about how these components are organized within the three-dimensional space of the nucleus. Technological advances are now helping to identify the spatial relationships and interactions of genes and regulatory elements in the nucleus and are revealing an unexpectedly extensive network of communication within and between chromosomes. A crucial unresolved issue is the extent to which this organization affects gene function, rather than just reflecting it.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Among the most intensively studied systems in molecular biology is the eukaryotic transcriptional apparatus, which expresses genes in a regulated manner across hundreds of different cell types. ...Several studies over the past few years have added weight to the concept that transcription takes place within discrete ‘transcription factories’ assembled inside the cell nucleus. These studies apply innovative technical approaches to gain insights into the molecular constituents, dynamical behaviour and organizational regulators of transcription factories, providing exciting insights into the spatial dimension of transcriptional control.
Chromosomes in proliferating metazoan cells undergo marked structural metamorphoses every cell cycle, alternating between highly condensed mitotic structures that facilitate chromosome segregation, ...and decondensed interphase structures that accommodate transcription, gene silencing and DNA replication. Here we use single-cell Hi-C (high-resolution chromosome conformation capture) analysis to study chromosome conformations in thousands of individual cells, and discover a continuum of cis-interaction profiles that finely position individual cells along the cell cycle. We show that chromosomal compartments, topological-associated domains (TADs), contact insulation and long-range loops, all defined by bulk Hi-C maps, are governed by distinct cell-cycle dynamics. In particular, DNA replication correlates with a build-up of compartments and a reduction in TAD insulation, while loops are generally stable from G1 to S and G2 phase. Whole-genome three-dimensional structural models reveal a radial architecture of chromosomal compartments with distinct epigenomic signatures. Our single-cell data therefore allow re-interpretation of chromosome conformation maps through the prism of the cell cycle.
Mammalian genomes are spatially organized into compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs), and loops to facilitate gene regulation and other chromosomal functions. How compartments, TADs, ...and loops are generated is unknown. It has been proposed that cohesin forms TADs and loops by extruding chromatin loops until it encounters CTCF, but direct evidence for this hypothesis is missing. Here, we show that cohesin suppresses compartments but is required for TADs and loops, that CTCF defines their boundaries, and that the cohesin unloading factor WAPL and its PDS5 binding partners control the length of loops. In the absence of WAPL and PDS5 proteins, cohesin forms extended loops, presumably by passing CTCF sites, accumulates in axial chromosomal positions (vermicelli), and condenses chromosomes. Unexpectedly, PDS5 proteins are also required for boundary function. These results show that cohesin has an essential genome‐wide function in mediating long‐range chromatin interactions and support the hypothesis that cohesin creates these by loop extrusion, until it is delayed by CTCF in a manner dependent on PDS5 proteins, or until it is released from DNA by WAPL.
Synopsis
Spatial organization of mammalian genomes facilitates gene regulation and replication. Hi‐C data reveal that cohesin binding at CTCF sites controls long‐range chromatin interactions, supporting a model in which chromatin loop extrusion drives genome 3D architecture.
Cohesin suppresses compartments but is required for TADs and loops.
CTCF and PDS5 proteins define TAD boundaries and loop anchors.
WAPL and PDS5 proteins define the length of loops.
Cohesin appears to form long‐range contacts by loop extrusion.
Hi‐C data show that cohesin is required for long‐range chromatin interactions, supporting a model of loop extrusion driving the spatial organization of mammalian genomes.
Capture Hi-C (CHi-C) is a method for profiling chromosomal interactions involving targeted regions of interest, such as gene promoters, globally and at high resolution. Signal detection in CHi-C data ...involves a number of statistical challenges that are not observed when using other Hi-C-like techniques. We present a background model and algorithms for normalisation and multiple testing that are specifically adapted to CHi-C experiments. We implement these procedures in CHiCAGO ( http://regulatorygenomicsgroup.org/chicago ), an open-source package for robust interaction detection in CHi-C. We validate CHiCAGO by showing that promoter-interacting regions detected with this method are enriched for regulatory features and disease-associated SNPs.
Spatiotemporal gene expression programmes are orchestrated by transcriptional enhancers, which are key regulatory DNA elements that engage in physical contacts with their target-gene promoters, often ...bridging considerable genomic distances. Recent progress in genomics, genome editing and microscopy methodologies have enabled the genome-wide mapping of enhancer-promoter contacts and their functional dissection. In this Review, we discuss novel concepts on how enhancer-promoter interactions are established and maintained, how the 3D architecture of mammalian genomes both facilitates and constrains enhancer-promoter contacts, and the role they play in gene expression control during normal development and disease.
Chromosomal rearrangements occur constitutionally in the general population and somatically in the majority of cancers. Detection of balanced rearrangements, such as reciprocal translocations and ...inversions, is troublesome, which is particularly detrimental in oncology where rearrangements play diagnostic and prognostic roles. Here we describe the use of Hi-C as a tool for detection of both balanced and unbalanced chromosomal rearrangements in primary human tumour samples, with the potential to define chromosome breakpoints to bp resolution. In addition, we show copy number profiles can also be obtained from the same data, all at a significantly lower cost than standard sequencing approaches.
Paternal and maternal epigenomes undergo marked changes after fertilization
. Recent epigenomic studies have revealed the unusual chromatin landscapes that are present in oocytes, sperm and early ...preimplantation embryos, including atypical patterns of histone modifications
and differences in chromosome organization and accessibility, both in gametes
and after fertilization
. However, these studies have led to very different conclusions: the global absence of local topological-associated domains (TADs) in gametes and their appearance in the embryo
versus the pre-existence of TADs and loops in the zygote
. The questions of whether parental structures can be inherited in the newly formed embryo and how these structures might relate to allele-specific gene regulation remain open. Here we map genomic interactions for each parental genome (including the X chromosome), using an optimized single-cell high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (HiC) protocol
, during preimplantation in the mouse. We integrate chromosome organization with allelic expression states and chromatin marks, and reveal that higher-order chromatin structure after fertilization coincides with an allele-specific enrichment of methylation of histone H3 at lysine 27. These early parental-specific domains correlate with gene repression and participate in parentally biased gene expression-including in recently described, transiently imprinted loci
. We also find TADs that arise in a non-parental-specific manner during a second wave of genome assembly. These de novo domains are associated with active chromatin. Finally, we obtain insights into the relationship between TADs and gene expression by investigating structural changes to the paternal X chromosome before and during X chromosome inactivation in preimplantation female embryos
. We find that TADs are lost as genes become silenced on the paternal X chromosome but linger in regions that escape X chromosome inactivation. These findings demonstrate the complex dynamics of three-dimensional genome organization and gene expression during early development.
Interactions between transcriptional promoters and their distal regulatory elements play an important role in transcriptional regulation; however, the extent to which these interactions are subject ...to rapid modulations in response to signals is unknown. Here, we use promoter capture Hi-C to demonstrate a rapid reorganization of promoter-anchored chromatin loops within 4 hr after inducing differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. The establishment of new promoter-enhancer loops is tightly coupled to activation of poised (histone H3 lysine 4 mono- and dimethylated) enhancers, as evidenced by the acquisition of histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation and the binding of MED1, SMC1, and P300 proteins to these regions, as well as to activation of target genes. Intriguingly, formation of loops connecting activated enhancers and promoters is also associated with extensive recruitment of corepressors such as NCoR and HDACs, indicating that this class of coregulators may play a previously unrecognized role during enhancer activation.
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•Dynamic promoters and enhancers are connected through dynamic chromatin loops•Chromatin loop formation is coupled to activation of poised enhancers•Enhancer activation is associated with corepressor recruitment
Siersbæk et al. demonstrate a rapid and dynamic rewiring of promoter-anchored chromatin loops during adipocyte differentiation, which is linked to changes in the activity of promoters and enhancers. Loop formation involves activation of poised enhancers and is associated with extensive recruitment of both coactivators and corepressors.
Chromosome conformation capture and various derivative methods such as 4C, 5C and Hi-C have emerged as standard tools to analyze the three-dimensional organization of the genome in the nucleus. These ...methods employ ligation of diluted cross-linked chromatin complexes, intended to favor proximity-dependent, intra-complex ligation. During development of single-cell Hi-C, we devised an alternative Hi-C protocol with ligation in preserved nuclei rather than in solution. Here we directly compare Hi-C methods employing in-nucleus ligation with the standard in-solution ligation.
We show in-nucleus ligation results in consistently lower levels of inter-chromosomal contacts. Through chromatin mixing experiments we show that a significantly large fraction of inter-chromosomal contacts are the result of spurious ligation events formed during in-solution ligation. In-nucleus ligation significantly reduces this source of experimental noise, and results in improved reproducibility between replicates. We also find that in-nucleus ligation eliminates restriction fragment length bias found with in-solution ligation. These improvements result in greater reproducibility of long-range intra-chromosomal and inter-chromosomal contacts, as well as enhanced detection of structural features such as topologically associated domain boundaries.
We conclude that in-nucleus ligation captures chromatin interactions more consistently over a wider range of distances, and significantly reduces both experimental noise and bias. In-nucleus ligation creates higher quality Hi-C libraries while simplifying the experimental procedure. We suggest that the entire range of 3C applications are likely to show similar benefits from in-nucleus ligation.