Cohesin supercoils DNA during loop extrusion
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE292596 | GEO | 2025/05/22
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Cohesin connects CTCF binding sites and other genomic loci in cis to form chromatin loops, and replicated DNA molecules in trans to mediate sister chromatid cohesion. Whether cohesin uses distinct or related mechanisms to perform these functions is unknown. Here we describe a cohesin hinge mutant, which can extrude DNA into loops but is unable to mediate cohesion. Our results suggest that the latter defect arises during cohesion establishment. The observation that cohesin’s cohesion and loop extrusion activities can be separated indicates that cohesin uses distinct mechanisms to perform these two functions. Unexpectedly, the same hinge mutant can also not be stopped by CTCF boundaries as well as wildtype cohesin. This suggests that cohesion establishment and cohesin’s interaction with CTCF boundaries depend on related mechanisms and raises the possibility that both require transient hinge opening to entrap DNA inside the cohesin ring.
2023-10-25 | GSE235770 | GEO
Project description:Cohesin connects CTCF binding sites and other genomic loci in cis to form chromatin loops, and replicated DNA molecules in trans to mediate sister chromatid cohesion. Whether cohesin uses distinct or related mechanisms to perform these functions is unknown. Here we describe a cohesin hinge mutant, which can extrude DNA into loops but is unable to mediate cohesion. Our results suggest that the latter defect arises during cohesion establishment. The observation that cohesin’s cohesion and loop extrusion activities can be separated indicates that cohesin uses distinct mechanisms to perform these two functions. Unexpectedly, the same hinge mutant can also not be stopped by CTCF boundaries as well as wildtype cohesin. This suggests that cohesion establishment and cohesin’s interaction with CTCF boundaries depend on related mechanisms and raises the possibility that both require transient hinge opening to entrap DNA inside the cohesin ring.
2023-10-25 | GSE235771 | GEO
Project description:Eukaryotic genomes are compacted into loops and topologically associating domains (TADs), which contribute to transcription, recombination and genomic stability. Cohesin extrudes DNA into loops that are thought to lengthen until CTCF boundaries are encountered. Little is known about whether loop extrusion is impeded by DNA-bound macromolecular machines. We demonstrate that the replicative helicase MCM is a barrier that restricts loop extrusion in G1 phase. Single-nucleus Hi-C of one-cell embryos revealed that MCM loading reduces CTCF-anchored loops and decreases TAD boundary insulation, suggesting loop extrusion is impeded before reaching CTCF. Single-molecule imaging shows that MCMs are physical barriers that constrain cohesin translocation in vitro. Simulations are consistent with MCMs as abundant, random barriers. We conclude that distinct loop extrusion barriers contribute to shaping 3D genomes.
2022-03-08 | GSE196300 | GEO
Project description:Cohesin’s association with and translocation along chromosomal DNAs depend on an ATP hydrolysis cycle driving the association and subsequent release of DNA. This involves DNA being ‘clamped’ by Scc2 and ATP-dependent engagement of cohesin’s Smc1 and Smc3 head domains. Scc2’s replacement by Pds5 abrogates cohesin’s ATPase and has an important role in halting DNA loop extrusion. The ATPase domains of all SMC proteins are separated from their hinge dimerisation domains by 50 nm long coiled coils, which have been observed to zip up along their entire length and fold around an elbow, thereby greatly shortening the distance between hinges and ATPase heads. Whether folding exists in vivo or has any physiological importance is not known. We present here a cryo-EM structure of the apo form of cohesin that reveals the structure of folded and zipped up coils in unprecedented detail and shows that Scc2 can associate with Smc1’s ATPase head even when it is fully disengaged from that of Smc3. Using cysteine-specific cross-linking, we show that cohesin’s coiled coils are frequently folded in vivo, including when cohesin holds sister chromatids together. Moreover, we describe a mutation (SMC1D588Y) within Smc1’s hinge that alters how Scc2 and Pds5 interact with Smc1’s hinge and that enables Scc2 to support loading in the absence of its normal partner Scc4. The mutant phenotype of loading without Scc4 is only explicable if loading depends on an association between Scc2/4 and cohesin’s hinge, which in turn requires coiled coil folding.
2021-07-21 | GSE167318 | GEO
Project description:The ring-shaped cohesin complex topologically entraps two DNAs to establish sister chromatid cohesion. Cohesin also shapes the interphase chromatin landscape, with wide-ranging implications for gene regulation, which cohesin is thought to achieve by actively extruding DNA loops without topologically entrapping DNA. The ‘loop extrusion’ model find motivation from in vitro observations - whether this process indeed underlies chromatin loop formation in vivo remains untested. Here, using the budding yeast S. cerevisiae, we generate cohesin variants that have lost their ability to extrude DNA loops but retain their ability to topologically entrap DNA. Analysis of these variants suggests that in vivo chromatin loops form independently of loop extrusion. Instead, we find that transcription promotes loop formation, likely by generating DNA substrates for topological loop capture. Transcription furthermore acts as an extrinsic motor that, by pushing cohesin along transcription units, extends chromatin loops and defines their ultimate positions. Our results necessitate a re-evaluation of the loop extrusion hypothesis and point to an alternative mechanism for cohesin-dependent chromatin organisation. Loop formation by DNA-DNA capture, akin to sister chromatid cohesion establishment at replication forks, unifies cohesin’s two roles in chromosome segregation and interphase genome organisation.
2024-08-04 | GSE248281 | GEO
Project description:The ring-shaped cohesin complex topologically entraps two DNAs to establish sister chromatid cohesion. Cohesin also shapes the interphase chromatin landscape, with wide-ranging implications for gene regulation, which cohesin is thought to achieve by actively extruding DNA loops without topologically entrapping DNA. The ‘loop extrusion’ model find motivation from in vitro observations - whether this process indeed underlies chromatin loop formation in vivo remains untested. Here, using the budding yeast S. cerevisiae, we generate cohesin variants that have lost their ability to extrude DNA loops but retain their ability to topologically entrap DNA. Analysis of these variants suggests that in vivo chromatin loops form independently of loop extrusion. Instead, we find that transcription promotes loop formation, likely by generating DNA substrates for topological loop capture. Transcription furthermore acts as an extrinsic motor that, by pushing cohesin along transcription units, extends chromatin loops and defines their ultimate positions. Our results necessitate a re-evaluation of the loop extrusion hypothesis and point to an alternative mechanism for cohesin-dependent chromatin organisation. Loop formation by DNA-DNA capture, akin to sister chromatid cohesion establishment at replication forks, unifies cohesin’s two roles in chromosome segregation and interphase genome organisation.
2024-08-04 | GSE248280 | GEO
Project description:Eukaryotic genomes are compacted into loops and topologically associating domains (TADs), which contribute to transcription, recombination and genomic stability. Cohesin extrudes DNA into loops that are thought to lengthen until it encounters CTCF boundaries. Little is known whether loop extrusion is impeded by macromolecular machines. We demonstrate that the replicative helicase MCM is a barrier that restricts loops and TADs in G1 phase. Single-nucleus Hi-C of one-cell embryos revealed that MCM loading reduces CTCF-anchored loops and increases TAD boundary insulation, suggesting loop extrusion is impeded before reaching CTCF. Single-molecule imaging provides evidence that MCM are physical barriers that constrain cohesin translocation in vitro. Simulations are consistent with MCM as abundant, random barriers with low permeability. We conclude that distinct loop extrusion barriers contribute to shaping 3D genomes.
2022-03-07 | GSE155971 | GEO
Project description:Eukaryotic genomes are compacted into loops and topologically associating domains (TADs), which contribute to transcription, recombination and genomic stability. Cohesin extrudes DNA into loops that are thought to lengthen until CTCF boundaries are encountered. Little is known about whether loop extrusion is impeded by DNA-bound machines. Here we show that the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex is a barrier that restricts loop extrusion in G1 phase. Single-nucleus Hi-C of mouse zygotes revealed that MCM loading reduces CTCF-anchored loops and decreases TAD boundary insulation, suggesting loop extrusion is impeded before reaching CTCF. This effect extends to HCT116 cells, where MCMs affect the number of CTCF-anchored loops and gene expression. Simulations suggest that MCMs are abundant, randomly positioned, partially permeable barriers. Single-molecule imaging shows that MCMs are physical barriers that frequently constrain cohesin translocation in vitro. Remarkably, chimaeric yeast MCMs harbouring a cohesin-interaction motif from human MCM3 induce cohesin pausing, suggesting that MCMs are “active” barriers with binding sites. These findings raise the possibility that cohesin can arrive by loop extrusion at MCMs, which determine the genomic sites at which sister chromatid cohesion is established. Based on in vivo, in silico and in vitro data, we conclude that distinct loop extrusion barriers shape the 3D genome.
2022-03-08 | GSE196496 | GEO
Project description:Cohesin structures the genome through the formation of chromatin loops and by holding together the sister chromatids. The acetylation of cohesin’s SMC3 subunit is a dynamic process that involves the acetyltransferase ESCO1 and deacetylase HDAC8. Here we show that this cohesin acetylation cycle controls the 3D genome. ESCO1 restricts the length of chromatin loops and architectural stripes, while HDAC8 promotes the extension of such loops and stripes. This role in controlling loop length turns out to be distinct from the canonical role of cohesin acetylation that protects against WAPL-mediated DNA release. We reveal that acetylation rather controls cohesin’s interaction with PDS5A to restrict chromatin loop length. Our data supports a model in which this PDS5A-bound state acts as a brake that enables the pausing and restart of loop enlargement. The cohesin acetylation cycle hereby provides punctuation in the process of genome folding.
2022-03-14 | PXD032185 | Pride
Project description:The chromatin fiber folds into loops, however the mechanisms controlling loop extrusion are still poorly understood. Using super-resolution microscopy, we visualized that loops in intact nuclei are formed by a scaffold of cohesin complexes from which the DNA protrudes. RNA polymerase II decorates the top of the loops and is physically segregated from cohesin. Augmented looping upon increased loading of cohesin on chromosomes causes disruption of Lamin at the nuclear rim and chromatin blending, a homogenous distribution of chromatin within the nucleus. Altering supercoiling via either transcription or topoisomerase inhibition counteracts chromatin blending, increases chromatin condensation, disrupts loop formation and leads to altered cohesin distribution and mobility on chromatin. Overall, negative supercoiling generated by transcription is an important regulator of loop formation in vivo.
2021-07-22 | GSE169474 | GEO