Differential spatial and structural organization of the X chromosome underlies dosage compensation in C. elegans.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Caenorhabditis elegans
PROVIDER: GSE56270 | GEO | 2014/12/01
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA242811
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Higher order chromosome structure and nuclear architecture can have profound effects on gene regulation. We analyzed how compartmentalizing the genome by tethering heterochromatic regions to the nuclear lamina affects dosage compensation in the nematode C. elegans. In this organism, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) binds both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription two-fold, thus balancing gene expression between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. X chromosome structure is disrupted by mutations in DCC subunits. Using X chromosome paint fluorescence microscopy, we found that X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are also disrupted when the mechanisms that anchor heterochromatin to the nuclear lamina are defective. Strikingly, the heterochromatic left end of the X chromosome is less affected than the gene-rich middle region, which lacks heterochromatic anchors. These changes in X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are accompanied by small, but significant levels of derepression of X-linked genes as measured by RNA-seq, without any observable defects in DCC localization and DCC-mediated changes in histone modifications. We propose a model in which heterochromatic tethers on the left arm of the X cooperate with the DCC to compact and peripherally relocate the X chromosomes, contributing to gene repression.
2016-03-25 | GSE79597 | GEO
Project description:Higher order structure of interphase chromosomes and their spatial organization within the nucleus can have profound effects on regulation of gene expression. We show how compartmentalizing the genome by tethering heterochromatic regions to the nuclear lamina can affect gene expression during C. elegans dosage compensation. In this organism, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) binds both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress gene expression two-fold, thus balancing gene expression between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. X chromosome structure is disrupted by mutations in DCC subunits. We found that X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are also disrupted when the mechanisms that anchor heterochromatin to the nuclear lamina are defective. Strikingly, the heterochromatic left end of the X chromosome is less affected than the gene-rich middle region which lacks heterochromatic anchors. Our results suggest a model in which tethers at the left of the chromosome nucleate formation of a compact structure, which, by the action of the DCC, is propagated to the rest of the chromosome. These changes in X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are accompanied by small, but significant levels of derepression of X-linked genes, without any observable defects in DCC localization and DCC-mediated changes in histone modification. RNA-seq profiles of C. elegans L1 wild type hermaphrodites, cec-4, met-2 set-25, and DPY-27 RNAi. RNA-seq profiles or C. elegans. Strains are N2 Bristol strain (wild type), RB2301 cec-4(ok3124) IV, and EKM99 met-2(n4256) set-25(n5021) III. Biological replicates for each strain/stage listed separately.
2016-03-25 | E-GEOD-79597 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The essential process of dosage compensation equalizes X-chromosome gene expression between C. elegans XO males and XX hermaphrodites through a dosage compensation complex (DCC) that resembles condensin. The DCC binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription by half. Here we show that post-translational modification by the SUMO conjugation pathway is essential for sex-specific assembly of the DCC onto X. Depletion of the SUMO peptide in vivo severely disrupts binding of particular DCC subunits and causes changes in X-linked gene expression similar to those caused by disrupting genes encoding DCC subunits. Three DCC subunits are themselves SUMOylated, and depletion of SUMO preferentially reduces their binding to X, suggesting that SUMOylation of DCC subunits is essential for robust association with X. DCC SUMOylation is triggered by the signal that initiates DCC assembly onto X. The initial step of assembly--binding of X-targeting factors to recruitment sites on X (rex sites)--is independent of SUMOylation, but robust binding of the complete complex requires SUMOylation. SUMOylated DCC subunits are enriched at rex sites, and SUMOylation enhances interactions between X-targeting factors and condensin subunits that facilitate DCC binding beyond the low level achieved without SUMOylation. DCC subunits also participate in condensin complexes essential for chromosome segregation, but their SUMOylation occurs only in the context of the DCC. Our results reinforce a newly emerging theme in which multiple proteins of a complex are SUMOylated in response to a specific stimulus, leading to accelerated complex formation and enhanced function. Total RNA was extracted from mixed stage embryos.
2013-08-31 | E-GEOD-48347 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The three-dimensional (3D) organization of a genome plays a critical role in regulating gene expression, yet little is known about the machinery and mechanisms that determine higher-order chromosome structure or how structure influences gene expression. Here we exploit the X-chromosome-wide process of dosage compensation to dissect these mechanisms. The dosage compensation complex (DCC) of C. elegans, a condensin complex, binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites via sequence-specific recruitment sites (rex sites) to reduce chromosome-wide gene expression by half. Using genome-wide chromosome conformation capture and single-cell FISH to compare chromosome structure in wild-type and DCC-defective embryos (DC mutants), we show that the DCC remodels X chromosomes of hermaphrodites into a spatial conformation distinct from autosomes. The dosage-compensated X chromosomes are composed of Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) that have sharper boundaries and more regular spacing than TADs on autosomes. Most TAD boundaries on X coincide with the highest-affinity rex sites, and these boundaries are lost or diminished in DC mutants, thereby restoring the topology of X to a native conformation resembling that of autosomes. Although most rex sites engage in multiple strong DCC-dependent long-range interactions, the strongest interactions occur between rex sites at the DCC-dependent TAD boundaries. We propose the DCC actively shapes the topology of the entire X chromosome by forming new TAD boundaries and reinforcing pre-existing weak TAD boundaries through interactions between its highest affinity sites. Such changes in higher-order X-chromosome structure then influence gene expression over long distances.
2015-06-03 | GSE59715 | GEO
Project description:The three-dimensional (3D) organization of a genome plays a critical role in regulating gene expression, yet little is known about the machinery and mechanisms that determine higher-order chromosome structure or how structure influences gene expression. Here we exploit the X-chromosome-wide process of dosage compensation to dissect these mechanisms. The dosage compensation complex (DCC) of C. elegans, a condensin complex, binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites via sequence-specific recruitment sites (rex sites) to reduce chromosome-wide gene expression by half. Using genome-wide chromosome conformation capture and single-cell FISH to compare chromosome structure in wild-type and DCC-defective embryos (DC mutants), we show that the DCC remodels X chromosomes of hermaphrodites into a spatial conformation distinct from autosomes. The dosage-compensated X chromosomes are composed of Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) that have sharper boundaries and more regular spacing than TADs on autosomes. Most TAD boundaries on X coincide with the highest-affinity rex sites, and these boundaries are lost or diminished in DC mutants, thereby restoring the topology of X to a native conformation resembling that of autosomes. Although most rex sites engage in multiple strong DCC-dependent long-range interactions, the strongest interactions occur between rex sites at the DCC-dependent TAD boundaries. We propose the DCC actively shapes the topology of the entire X chromosome by forming new TAD boundaries and reinforcing pre-existing weak TAD boundaries through interactions between its highest affinity sites. Such changes in higher-order X-chromosome structure then influence gene expression over long distances.
2015-06-03 | GSE59597 | GEO
Project description:The three-dimensional (3D) organization of a genome plays a critical role in regulating gene expression, yet little is known about the machinery and mechanisms that determine higher-order chromosome structure or how structure influences gene expression. Here we exploit the X-chromosome-wide process of dosage compensation to dissect these mechanisms. The dosage compensation complex (DCC) of C. elegans, a condensin complex, binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites via sequence-specific recruitment sites (rex sites) to reduce chromosome-wide gene expression by half. Using genome-wide chromosome conformation capture and single-cell FISH to compare chromosome structure in wild-type and DCC-defective embryos (DC mutants), we show that the DCC remodels X chromosomes of hermaphrodites into a spatial conformation distinct from autosomes. The dosage-compensated X chromosomes are composed of Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) that have sharper boundaries and more regular spacing than TADs on autosomes. Most TAD boundaries on X coincide with the highest-affinity rex sites, and these boundaries are lost or diminished in DC mutants, thereby restoring the topology of X to a native conformation resembling that of autosomes. Although most rex sites engage in multiple strong DCC-dependent long-range interactions, the strongest interactions occur between rex sites at the DCC-dependent TAD boundaries. We propose the DCC actively shapes the topology of the entire X chromosome by forming new TAD boundaries and reinforcing pre-existing weak TAD boundaries through interactions between its highest affinity sites. Such changes in higher-order X-chromosome structure then influence gene expression over long distances.
2015-06-03 | GSE63717 | GEO
Project description:The essential process of dosage compensation equalizes X-chromosome gene expression between C. elegans XO males and XX hermaphrodites through a dosage compensation complex (DCC) that resembles condensin. The DCC binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription by half. Here we show that post-translational modification by the SUMO conjugation pathway is essential for sex-specific assembly of the DCC onto X. Depletion of the SUMO peptide in vivo severely disrupts binding of particular DCC subunits and causes changes in X-linked gene expression similar to those caused by disrupting genes encoding DCC subunits. Three DCC subunits are themselves SUMOylated, and depletion of SUMO preferentially reduces their binding to X, suggesting that SUMOylation of DCC subunits is essential for robust association with X. DCC SUMOylation is triggered by the signal that initiates DCC assembly onto X. The initial step of assembly--binding of X-targeting factors to recruitment sites on X (rex sites)--is independent of SUMOylation, but robust binding of the complete complex requires SUMOylation. SUMOylated DCC subunits are enriched at rex sites, and SUMOylation enhances interactions between X-targeting factors and condensin subunits that facilitate DCC binding beyond the low level achieved without SUMOylation. DCC subunits also participate in condensin complexes essential for chromosome segregation, but their SUMOylation occurs only in the context of the DCC. Our results reinforce a newly emerging theme in which multiple proteins of a complex are SUMOylated in response to a specific stimulus, leading to accelerated complex formation and enhanced function.
2013-08-31 | GSE48413 | GEO
Project description:The essential process of dosage compensation equalizes X-chromosome gene expression between C. elegans XO males and XX hermaphrodites through a dosage compensation complex (DCC) that resembles condensin. The DCC binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription by half. Here we show that post-translational modification by the SUMO conjugation pathway is essential for sex-specific assembly of the DCC onto X. Depletion of the SUMO peptide in vivo severely disrupts binding of particular DCC subunits and causes changes in X-linked gene expression similar to those caused by disrupting genes encoding DCC subunits. Three DCC subunits are themselves SUMOylated, and depletion of SUMO preferentially reduces their binding to X, suggesting that SUMOylation of DCC subunits is essential for robust association with X. DCC SUMOylation is triggered by the signal that initiates DCC assembly onto X. The initial step of assembly--binding of X-targeting factors to recruitment sites on X (rex sites)--is independent of SUMOylation, but robust binding of the complete complex requires SUMOylation. SUMOylated DCC subunits are enriched at rex sites, and SUMOylation enhances interactions between X-targeting factors and condensin subunits that facilitate DCC binding beyond the low level achieved without SUMOylation. DCC subunits also participate in condensin complexes essential for chromosome segregation, but their SUMOylation occurs only in the context of the DCC. Our results reinforce a newly emerging theme in which multiple proteins of a complex are SUMOylated in response to a specific stimulus, leading to accelerated complex formation and enhanced function.
2013-08-31 | GSE48347 | GEO
Project description:In Caenorhabditis elegans, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) specifically binds to and represses transcription from both X chromosomes in hermaphrodites. The DCC is composed of an X-specific condensin complex that interacts with several proteins. During embryogenesis, DCC starts localizing to the X chromosomes around the 40-cell stage, and is followed by X-enrichment of H4K20me1 between 100-cell to comma stage. Here, we analyzed dosage compensation of the X chromosome between sexes, and the roles of dpy-27 (condensin subunit), dpy-21 (non-condensin DCC member), set-1 (H4K20 monomethylase) and set-4 (H4K20 di-/tri-methylase) in X chromosome repression using mRNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses across several developmental time points. We found that the DCC starts repressing the X chromosomes by the 40-cell stage, but X-linked transcript levels remain significantly higher in hermaphrodites compared to males through the comma stage of embryogenesis. Dpy-27 and dpy-21 are required for X chromosome repression throughout development, but particularly in early embryos dpy-27 and dpy-21 mutations produced distinct expression changes, suggesting a DCC independent role for dpy-21. We previously hypothesized that the DCC increases H4K20me1 by reducing set-4 activity on the X chromosomes. Accordingly, in the set-4 mutant, H4K20me1 increased more from the autosomes compared to the X, equalizing H4K20me1 level between X and autosomes. H4K20me1 increase on the autosomes led to a slight repression, resulting in a relative effect of X derepression. H4K20me1 depletion in the set-1 mutant showed greater X derepression compared to equalization of H4K20me1 levels between X and autosomes in the set-4 mutant, indicating that H4K20me1 level is important, but X to autosomal balance of H4K20me1 contributes only slightly to X-repression. Thus H4K20me1 by itself is not a downstream effector of the DCC. In summary, X chromosome dosage compensation starts in early embryos as the DCC localizes to the X, and is strengthened in later embryogenesis by H4K20me1.
2015-11-09 | GSE67650 | GEO
Project description:The essential process of dosage compensation equalizes X-chromosome gene expression between C. elegans XO males and XX hermaphrodites through a dosage compensation complex (DCC) that resembles condensin. The DCC binds to both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription by half. Here we show that post-translational modification by the SUMO conjugation pathway is essential for sex-specific assembly of the DCC onto X. Depletion of the SUMO peptide in vivo severely disrupts binding of particular DCC subunits and causes changes in X-linked gene expression similar to those caused by disrupting genes encoding DCC subunits. Three DCC subunits are themselves SUMOylated, and depletion of SUMO preferentially reduces their binding to X, suggesting that SUMOylation of DCC subunits is essential for robust association with X. DCC SUMOylation is triggered by the signal that initiates DCC assembly onto X. The initial step of assembly--binding of X-targeting factors to recruitment sites on X (rex sites)--is independent of SUMOylation, but robust binding of the complete complex requires SUMOylation. SUMOylated DCC subunits are enriched at rex sites, and SUMOylation enhances interactions between X-targeting factors and condensin subunits that facilitate DCC binding beyond the low level achieved without SUMOylation. DCC subunits also participate in condensin complexes essential for chromosome segregation, but their SUMOylation occurs only in the context of the DCC. Our results reinforce a newly emerging theme in which multiple proteins of a complex are SUMOylated in response to a specific stimulus, leading to accelerated complex formation and enhanced function. ChIP-chip experiments using antibodies against DPY-27, SDC-3, DPY-30, DPY-26, DPY-28 and FLAG-tagged SDC-2 in wild-type and smo-1 RNAi treated mixed embryos, with IGG controls. Also, sequential ChIP-chip experiments: (1) ChIP using FLAG antibodies to determine the genome-wide binding sites for SUMOylated proteins, (2) ChIP using FLAG antibodies followed by re-ChIP of eluted protein-chromatin complexes with DPY-27 antibodies to determine genome-wide binding sites for SUMOylated DPY-27 (referred to as DPY-27 re-ChIP experiments), (3) ChIP using FLAG antibodies followed by re-ChIP of eluted protein-chromatin with IGG antibodies to determine background binding (referred to as IGG re-ChIP experiments, and (4) ChIP using DPY-27 antibodies as a control to assess the efficiency of DPY-27 binding and detection in control vs. FLAG-tagged strains.
2013-08-31 | E-GEOD-48413 | biostudies-arrayexpress