Transcription rate and transcript length drive formation of chromosomal interaction domain boundaries.

ABSTRACT: Chromosomes in all organisms are highly organized and divided into multiple chromosomal interaction domains, or topological domains. Regions of active, high transcription help establish and maintain domain boundaries, but precisely how this occurs remains unclear. Here, using fluorescence microscopy and chromosome conformation capture in conjunction with deep sequencing (Hi-C), we show that in Caulobacter crescentus, both transcription rate and transcript length, independent of concurrent translation, drive the formation of domain boundaries. We find that long, highly expressed genes do not form topological boundaries simply through the inhibition of supercoil diffusion. Instead, our results support a model in which long, active regions of transcription drive local decompaction of the chro

SUBMITTER: Le TB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4946140 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature