Project description:Methylation of cytosines at the 5th carbon position of the aromatic ring has long been regarded as the predominant type of DNA base modification in eukaryotes. Often called “the fifth base”, C5-methylcytosine (5mC) plays an important role in genome defense against mobile genetic elements, and is mostly associated with transcriptional silencing, establishment of the closed chromatin configuration, and repressive histone modifications. Recently, another type of DNA modification, N6-methyladenine (6mA), has been added to the repertoire of modified bases in eukaryotic DNA, and was mostly linked to elevated transcription levels. In prokaryotes, 5mC and 6mA typically constitute components of restriction-modification (R-M) systems, along with N4-methylcytosine (4mC), which so far has been confined to bacteria. Here we report the first case of 4mC occurrence in eukaryotic DNA. We find that bdelloid rotifers, small freshwater invertebrates known for their ability to reproduce clonally and to acquire genes from non-metazoan sources, lack the canonical eukaryotic C5-methyltransferases but instead encode an amino-methyltransferase of bacterial origin, N4CMT, which is present in all bdelloid families separated by tens of millions of years of evolution. The recombinant N4CMT introduces 4mC into genomic DNA in vivo and in vitro. Using SMRT-seq (PRJNA558051), MeDIP-seq, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq, we examined genome-wide distribution of non-canonical base modifications over annotated genomic features and observed an excess of 4mC in silenced transposable elements and certain tandem repeats, while 6mA tends to associate with transcribed genes and active chromatin. The presence of the chromodomain in N4CMT explains its affinity for repressive histone marks, H3K9me3 and especially H3K27me3. Our results expand the known repertoire of eukaryotic base modifications, shed light on the process of recruitment of methyl groups as epigenetic marks in DNA, and highlight the role of horizontal gene transfer as an important driver of evolutionary innovation in eukaryotes.
Project description:Methylation of cytosines at the 5th carbon position of the aromatic ring has long been regarded as the predominant type of DNA base modification in eukaryotes. Often called “the fifth base”, C5-methylcytosine (5mC) plays an important role in genome defense against mobile genetic elements, and is mostly associated with transcriptional silencing, establishment of the closed chromatin configuration, and repressive histone modifications. Recently, another type of DNA modification, N6-methyladenine (6mA), has been added to the repertoire of modified bases in eukaryotic DNA, and was mostly linked to elevated transcription levels. In prokaryotes, 5mC and 6mA typically constitute components of restriction-modification (R-M) systems, along with N4-methylcytosine (4mC), which so far has been confined to bacteria. Here we report the first case of 4mC occurrence in eukaryotic DNA. We find that bdelloid rotifers, small freshwater invertebrates known for their ability to reproduce clonally and to acquire genes from non-metazoan sources, lack the canonical eukaryotic C5-methyltransferases but instead encode an amino-methyltransferase of bacterial origin, N4CMT, which is present in all bdelloid families separated by tens of millions of years of evolution. The recombinant N4CMT introduces 4mC into genomic DNA in vivo and in vitro. Using SMRT-seq (PRJNA558051), MeDIP-seq, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq, we examined genome-wide distribution of non-canonical base modifications over annotated genomic features and observed an excess of 4mC in silenced transposable elements and certain tandem repeats, while 6mA tends to associate with transcribed genes and active chromatin. The presence of the chromodomain in N4CMT explains its affinity for repressive histone marks, H3K9me3 and especially H3K27me3. Our results expand the known repertoire of eukaryotic base modifications, shed light on the process of recruitment of methyl groups as epigenetic marks in DNA, and highlight the role of horizontal gene transfer as an important driver of evolutionary innovation in eukaryotes.
Project description:Methylation of cytosines at the 5th carbon position of the aromatic ring has long been regarded as the predominant type of DNA base modification in eukaryotes. Often called “the fifth base”, C5-methylcytosine (5mC) plays an important role in genome defense against mobile genetic elements, and is mostly associated with transcriptional silencing, establishment of the closed chromatin configuration, and repressive histone modifications. Recently, another type of DNA modification, N6-methyladenine (6mA), has been added to the repertoire of modified bases in eukaryotic DNA, and was mostly linked to elevated transcription levels. In prokaryotes, 5mC and 6mA typically constitute components of restriction-modification (R-M) systems, along with N4-methylcytosine (4mC), which so far has been confined to bacteria. Here we report the first case of 4mC occurrence in eukaryotic DNA. We find that bdelloid rotifers, small freshwater invertebrates known for their ability to reproduce clonally and to acquire genes from non-metazoan sources, lack the canonical eukaryotic C5-methyltransferases but instead encode an amino-methyltransferase of bacterial origin, N4CMT, which is present in all bdelloid families separated by tens of millions of years of evolution. The recombinant N4CMT introduces 4mC into genomic DNA in vivo and in vitro. Using SMRT-seq (PRJNA558051), MeDIP-seq, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq, we examined genome-wide distribution of non-canonical base modifications over annotated genomic features and observed an excess of 4mC in silenced transposable elements and certain tandem repeats, while 6mA tends to associate with transcribed genes and active chromatin. The presence of the chromodomain in N4CMT explains its affinity for repressive histone marks, H3K9me3 and especially H3K27me3. Our results expand the known repertoire of eukaryotic base modifications, shed light on the process of recruitment of methyl groups as epigenetic marks in DNA, and highlight the role of horizontal gene transfer as an important driver of evolutionary innovation in eukaryotes.
Project description:Eukaryotic DNA replication initiates from multiple sites on each chromosome called replication origins. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, origins are defined at discrete sites. Regular spacing and diverse firing characteristics of origins are thought to be required for efficient completion of replication, especially in the presence of replication stress. However, a S. cerevisiae chromosome III harboring multiple origin deletions has been reported to replicate relatively normally, and yet how an origin-deficient chromosome could accomplish successful replication remains unkown. To address this issue, we deleted seven well-characterized origins from chromosome VI, and found that thsese deletions do not cause gross growth defects even in the presence of replication inhibitors. We demonstrated that the origin deletions do cause a strong decrease in the binding of the origin recognition complex. Unexpectedly, replication profiling of this chromosome showed that DNA replication initiates from non-canonical loci around deleted origins in yeast. These results suggest that replication initiation can be unexpectedly flexible in this organism.
Project description:Eukaryotic DNA replication initiates from multiple sites on each chromosome called replication origins. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, origins are defined at discrete sites. Regular spacing and diverse firing characteristics of origins are thought to be required for efficient completion of replication, especially in the presence of replication stress. However, a S. cerevisiae chromosome III harboring multiple origin deletions has been reported to replicate relatively normally, and yet how an origin-deficient chromosome could accomplish successful replication remains unkown. To address this issue, we deleted seven well-characterized origins from chromosome VI, and found that thsese deletions do not cause gross growth defects even in the presence of replication inhibitors. We demonstrated that the origin deletions do cause a strong decrease in the binding of the origin recognition complex. Unexpectedly, replication profiling of this chromosome showed that DNA replication initiates from non-canonical loci around deleted origins in yeast. These results suggest that replication initiation can be unexpectedly flexible in this organism. In this study, we aimed to establish an independent system to investigate how an origin-deficient chromosome is replicated. To this end, we systematically deleted seven well-characterized origins on the left arm of S. cerevisiae chromosome VI and analyzed (1) Orc2 localization during G2/M arrest and (2) BrdU incorporation during synchronous release from G1 arrest into S-phase, and compared the results to wild-type cell signals. For Orc2 ChIP-Chip experiments, Orc-bound DNA was isolated from Orc2-2Xlinker-3XFlag epitope-tagged cells arrested in G2/M using antibodies against Flag. For BrdU ChIP-Chip experiments, actively replicating DNA was isolated from cells harboring a single integrated BrdU incorporation vector released synchronously into 200mM HU using antibodies against BrdU. Immunoprecipitated and input (Orc2) or G1 (BrdU) DNA was then amplified and competitively hybridized to high-resolution strand-specific microarrays covering chromosomes III, VI, and XII.
Project description:Initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication requires temporal separation of helicase loading from helicase activation and replisome assembly. Using an in vitro assay for eukaryotic origin-dependent replication initiation, we investigated the control of these events. After helicase loading, we found that the Dbf4-dependent Cdc7 kinase (DDK) initially drives origin recruitment of Sld3 and the Cdc45 helicase-activating protein. Corresponding in vivo studies found that DDK was required for Cdc45 binding at early origins during G1. Upon activation of S-phase cyclin-dependent kinases (S-CDK), a second helicase-activating protein (GINS) and the remainder of the replisome are recruited to the origin. Investigation of DNA polymerase recruitment showed that Mcm10 and DNA unwinding both were critical for recruitment of the lagging but not leading strand DNA polymerases. Our studies identify distinct roles for DDK and S-CDK during helicase activation and support a model in which the leading strand DNA polymerase is recruited prior to DNA unwinding and initial RNA primer synthesis.