Project description:4C procedure was used for analysis of genomic contacts of rDNA units in HEK 293T cells. The primers for 4C were selected inside IGS. Our data indicate that mostly rDNA units exhibit close proximity with pericentromeric regions in different chromosomes. We also detected the contacts within a rDNA unit and between rDNA units. Examination of rDNA genome-wide contacts in HEK 293T cells using 4C approach.
Project description:4C procedure was used for analysis of genomic contacts of rDNA units in HEK 293T cells. The primers for 4C were selected inside IGS. Our data indicate that mostly rDNA units exhibit close proximity with pericentromeric regions in different chromosomes. We also detected the contacts within a rDNA unit and between rDNA units.
Project description:Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) encodes the 18S, 5.8S, and 28S RNA components of ribosomes, accounting for up to 70% of cellular transcription. Despite its central role in cellular function and known association with cancer and aging, quantifying rDNA instability in mammals remains challenging due to its repetitive organization and inherent heterogeneity. In this study, we developed murine rDNA FISH probes and genomic tools tailored for laboratory strains. The results confirmed the locations of rDNA clusters, uncovered marked inter-/intra-strain and inter-cell heterogeneity at rDNA loci in inbred mice and unstressed cells, and identified sources of spontaneous, replication-associated DNA double-strand breaks within rDNA. Focused mini-screens using DNA repair-deficient cells uncovered distinct contributions of homologous recombination, non-homologous end-joining, and the ATM-mediated DNA damage response in safeguarding rDNA stability. Together, these findings and tools provide a robust framework for assessing rDNA instability in mammalian cells and animal models with applications in aging and cancer research.
Project description:To sustain growth, budding yeast actively transcribes its ribosomal gene array (rDNA) in the nucoleolus to produce ribosomes and proteins. However, intense transcription during rDNA replication may provoke collisions between RNA polymerase I (Pol I) and the replisome, may cause replication fork instability, double-strand breaks, local recombinations and rDNA instability. The latter is manifested by rDNA array expansion or reduction and the formation of extrachromosomal rDNA circles, anomalies that accelerate aging in yeast. Transcription also interferes with the resolution, condensation and segregation of the sister chromatid rDNA arrays. As a consequence, rDNA segregation lags behind the rest of the yeast genome and occurs in late anaphase when rDNA transcription is temporarily shut off. How yeast promotes the stability and transmission of its rDNA array while satisfying a constant need for ribosomes remains unclear. Here we show that the downregulation of Pol I by the conserved cell cycle kinase Rio1 spatiotemporally coordinates rDNA transcription, replication and segregation. More specifically, Rio1 activity promotes copy-number stability of the replicating rDNA array by curtailing Pol I activity and by localising the histone deacetylase Sir2, which establishes a heterochromatic state that silences rDNA transcription. At anaphase entry, Rio1 and the Cdc14 phosphatase target Pol I subunit Rpa43 to dissociate Pol I from the 35S rDNA promoter. The rDNA locus then condensates and segregates, thereby concluding the genome transmission process. Rio1 is involved in ribosome maturation in the cytoplasm of budding yeast and human cells. Additional engagements in the cytoplasm or roles in the nucleus are unknown. Our study describes its first nuclear engagement as a Pol I silencing kinase. This activity may prove highly relevant as dysregulated RNA polymerase I activity has been associated with cancer initiation and proliferation.
Project description:Over 2000 publicly accessible human and mouse ChIP-Seq datasets for about 250 Transcription Factors and chromatin complexes from various databases (ENCODE, GEO) were mapped to custom-made human and mouse genomes containing a reference rDNA sequence of the appropriate species (Genbank U13369.1 for human, BK000964.3 for mouse). The read mapping density across the rDNA sequence was then extracted and normalized to the median in that dataset. Unbiased clustering and analysis, followed by curation, was performed to identify high-confidence patterns of rDNA occupancy for numerous hematopoietic TFs and TF families at canonical TF motif sequences. ************************ Data processing steps: FASTQs were trimmed using Trimmomatic with the following parameters: LEADING:3 TRAILING:3 SLIDINGWINDOW:4:15 MINLEN:30 Reads were mapped to customized genomes (containing additional rDNA sequence) using Bowtie2 using the following parameter: -X 2000 Read density across the rDNA sequence was extracted using igvtools ************************
Project description:4C-rDNA procedure was used for analysis of genomic contacts of rDNA units in HEK 293T cells. The primers for 4C were selected downstream from EcoRI site at coordinate 30487 in rDNA sequence with Accession number U13369.1.
Project description:Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes exist in multiple copies arranged in tandem arrays known as ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The total number of gene copies is variable, and the mechanisms buffering this copy number variation remain unresolved. We surveyed the number, distribution, and activity of rDNA arrays at the level of individual chromosomes across multiple human and primate genomes. Each individual possessed a unique fingerprint of copy number distribution and activity of rDNA arrays. In some cases, entire rDNA arrays were transcriptionally silent. Silent rDNA arrays showed reduced association with the nucleolus and decreased interchromosomal interactions, indicating that the nucleolar organizer function of rDNA depends on transcriptional activity. Methyl-sequencing of flow-sorted chromosomes, combined with long read sequencing, showed epigenetic modification of rDNA promoter and coding region by DNA methylation. Silent arrays were in a closed chromatin state, as indicated by the accessibility profiles derived from Fiber-seq. Removing DNA methylation restored the transcriptional activity of silent arrays. Array activity status remained stable through the iPS cell re-programming. Family trio analysis demonstrated that the inactive rDNA haplotype can be traced to one of the parental genomes, suggesting that the epigenetic state of rDNA arrays may be heritable. We propose that the dosage of rRNA genes is epigenetically regulated by DNA methylation, and these methylation patterns specify nucleolar organizer function and can propagate transgenerationally.
Project description:Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes exist in multiple copies arranged in tandem arrays known as ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The total number of gene copies is variable, and the mechanisms buffering this copy number variation remain unresolved. We surveyed the number, distribution, and activity of rDNA arrays at the level of individual chromosomes across multiple human and primate genomes. Each individual possessed a unique fingerprint of copy number distribution and activity of rDNA arrays. In some cases, entire rDNA arrays were transcriptionally silent. Silent rDNA arrays showed reduced association with the nucleolus and decreased interchromosomal interactions, indicating that the nucleolar organizer function of rDNA depends on transcriptional activity. Methyl-sequencing of flow-sorted chromosomes, combined with long read sequencing, showed epigenetic modification of rDNA promoter and coding region by DNA methylation. Silent arrays were in a closed chromatin state, as indicated by the accessibility profiles derived from Fiber-seq. Removing DNA methylation restored the transcriptional activity of silent arrays. Array activity status remained stable through the iPS cell re-programming. Family trio analysis demonstrated that the inactive rDNA haplotype can be traced to one of the parental genomes, suggesting that the epigenetic state of rDNA arrays may be heritable. We propose that the dosage of rRNA genes is epigenetically regulated by DNA methylation, and these methylation patterns specify nucleolar organizer function and can propagate transgenerationally.
Project description:Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes exist in multiple copies arranged in tandem arrays known as ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The total number of gene copies is variable, and the mechanisms buffering this copy number variation remain unresolved. We surveyed the number, distribution, and activity of rDNA arrays at the level of individual chromosomes across multiple human and primate genomes. Each individual possessed a unique fingerprint of copy number distribution and activity of rDNA arrays. In some cases, entire rDNA arrays were transcriptionally silent. Silent rDNA arrays showed reduced association with the nucleolus and decreased interchromosomal interactions, indicating that the nucleolar organizer function of rDNA depends on transcriptional activity. Methyl-sequencing of flow-sorted chromosomes, combined with long read sequencing, showed epigenetic modification of rDNA promoter and coding region by DNA methylation. Silent arrays were in a closed chromatin state, as indicated by the accessibility profiles derived from Fiber-seq. Removing DNA methylation restored the transcriptional activity of silent arrays. Array activity status remained stable through the iPS cell re-programming. Family trio analysis demonstrated that the inactive rDNA haplotype can be traced to one of the parental genomes, suggesting that the epigenetic state of rDNA arrays may be heritable. We propose that the dosage of rRNA genes is epigenetically regulated by DNA methylation, and these methylation patterns specify nucleolar organizer function and can propagate transgenerationally.