Project description:The three-dimensional organization of the genome supports regulated gene expression, recombination, DNA repair, and chromosome segregation during mitosis. Chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) has revealed a complex genomic landscape of internal chromosome structures in vertebrate cells yet how sister chromatids topologically interact in replicated chromosomes has remained elusive due to their identical sequences. Here, we present sister-chromatid-sensitive Hi-C (scsHi-C) based on nascent DNA labeling with 4-thio-thymidine. Genome-wide conformation maps of human chromosomes revealed that sister chromatid pairs interact most frequently at the boundaries of topologically associating domains (TADs). Continuous loading of a dynamic cohesin pool separates sister-chromatid pairs inside TADs and is required to focus sister chromatid contacts at TAD boundaries. We identified a subset of TADs that are overall highly paired, characterized by facultative heterochromatin, as well as insulated topological domains that form separately within individual sister chromatids. The rich pattern of sister chromatid topologies and our scsHi-C technology will make it possible to dissect how physical interactions between identical DNA molecules contribute to DNA repair, gene expression, chromosome segregation, and potentially other biological processes.
Project description:Genetic information is stored in linear DNA molecules, which fold extensively inside cells. DNA replication along the folded template path yields two sister chromatids that initially occupy the same nuclear region in a highly intertwined arrangement. Dividing cells must disentangle and condense the sister chromatids into separate bodies such that a microtubule-based spindle can move them to opposite poles. While the spindle-mediated transport of sister chromatids has been studied in detail, the chromosome-intrinsic mechanics pre-segregating sister chromatids have remained elusive. Here, we show that human sister chromatids resolve extensively already during interphase, in a process dependent on the loop-extruding activity of cohesin, but not that of condensins. Increasing cohesin’s looping capability increases sister DNA resolution in interphase nuclei to an extent normally seen only during mitosis, despite the presence of abundant arm cohesion. That cohesin can resolve sister chromatids so extensively in the absence of mitosis-specific activities indicates that DNA loop extrusion is a generic mechanism for segregating replicated genomes, shared across different Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) protein complexes in all kingdoms of life.
Project description:The fidelity of chromosome duplication through cell divisions requires timely binding and release of the cohesin. Cohesin is a ring-shaped protein complex linking newly replicated sister chromatids to ensure their appropriate transmission through mitosis. Upon commencement of mitosis cohesin is removed from DNA in two steps: first, from chromosome arms resulting in sister chromatid resolution, and, second, from centromers leading to sister chromatid segregation. As DNA of eukaryotic chromosomes is assembled into chromatin, regulation of sister chromatid cohesion-segregation may involve chromatin modifying machinery, but this link is not well understood. Here we report that H2A-H2B histone chaperone NAP1, a factor, which is primarily implicated in chromatin assembly, is required for cohesin release from mitotic chromosome arms. NAP1 and cohesin protein complex interact directly and share multiple binding sites on chromatin. Depletion of the NAP1 hinders cohesin removal during mitosis resulting in accumulation of unresolved sister chromatids. Thus, in addition to its well established functions in chromatin dynamics, histone chaperone NAP1 coordinates cell cycle dependent cohesin release. These results reveal a novel molecular pathway for sister chromatid resolution and emphasizes a role for histone chaperones in control of eukaryotic genome replication and transmission.
Project description:The fidelity of chromosome duplication through cell divisions requires timely binding and release of the cohesin. Cohesin is a ring-shaped protein complex linking newly replicated sister chromatids to ensure their appropriate transmission through mitosis. Upon commencement of mitosis cohesin is removed from DNA in two steps: first, from chromosome arms resulting in sister chromatid resolution, and, second, from centromers leading to sister chromatid segregation. As DNA of eukaryotic chromosomes is assembled into chromatin, regulation of sister chromatid cohesion-segregation may involve chromatin modifying machinery, but this link is not well understood. Here we report that H2A-H2B histone chaperone NAP1, a factor, which is primarily implicated in chromatin assembly, is required for cohesin release from mitotic chromosome arms. NAP1 and cohesin protein complex interact directly and share multiple binding sites on chromatin. Depletion of the NAP1 hinders cohesin removal during mitosis resulting in accumulation of unresolved sister chromatids. Thus, in addition to its well established functions in chromatin dynamics, histone chaperone NAP1 coordinates cell cycle dependent cohesin release. These results reveal a novel molecular pathway for sister chromatid resolution and emphasizes a role for histone chaperones in control of eukaryotic genome replication and transmission. Genome-wide NAP1 and Cohesin ChIP-chip profiling in Drosophila S2 cells. The supplementary bed file S2_cohesin_sites.bed contains cohesin binding sites obtained by intersecting the sets of significant ChIP-chip peaks for SA (a cohesin subunit; stromalin) and SMC1.
Project description:Cohesion between sister chromatids depends on the chromosomal cohesin complex and allows the spindle apparatus in mitosis to recognize replicated chromosomes for segregation into daughter cells. Sister chromatid cohesion is established concomitant with DNA replication, and requires the essential Eco1 protein, a replication fork-associated acetyl transferase. The mechanism by which Eco1 establishes sister chromatid cohesion is not known. Here, we show that the cohesin subunit Smc3 is acetylated in an Eco1-dependent manner during S phase to establish sister chromatid cohesion. We isolated spontaneous suppressors of the thermosensitive eco1-1 allele in budding yeast, and identified the suppressor mutations from the hybridization pattern of genomic DNA on oligonucleotide tiling arrays. An acetylation mimicking mutation of a conserved lysine in Smc3 to asparagine (K113N) makes Eco1 dispensable for cell growth, indicating that Smc3 acetylation is Eco1’s only essential function. We identified a second set of eco1-1 suppressor mutations in the budding yeast ortholog of the cohesin regulator Wapl (Wpl1/Rad61). Wapl destabilizes cohesin on chromosomes, and Eco1-dependent Smc3 acetylation during S-phase might render cohesin resistant to Wapl. Our results clarify the role of Eco1 in the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion, and suggest that Eco1 modifies cohesin to stabilize an Eco1-independent cohesion establishment reaction.
Project description:The 3-dimensional (3D) conformation of chromatin inside the nucleus is integral to a variety of nuclear processes including transcriptional regulation, DNA replication, and DNA damage repair. Aberrations in 3D chromatin conformation have been implicated in developmental abnormalities and cancer. Despite the importance of 3D chromatin conformation to cellular function and human health, little is known about how 3D chromatin conformation varies in the human population, or whether DNA sequence variation between individuals influences 3D chromatin conformation. To address these questions, we performed Hi-C on Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines (LCLs) from a panel of 20 individuals. We identify thousands of regions across the genome where 3D chromatin conformation varies between individuals and find that these conformational variations are often accompanied by variations in gene expression, histone modifications, and transcription factor (TF) binding. Moreover, we find that DNA sequence variation influences several features of 3D chromatin conformation including loop strength, contact insulation, contact directionality and density of local cis contacts. We map hundreds of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) associated with 3D chromatin features and find evidence that some of these same variants are associated at modest levels with other molecular phenotypes as well as complex disease risk. Our results demonstrate that common DNA sequence variants can influence 3D chromatin conformation, pointing to a more pervasive role for 3D chromatin conformation in human phenotypic variation than previously recognized.
Project description:We report the application of high through-put tag sequencing to measure the location and strand of DNA embedded ribonucleotides in the yeast genome. Mutations in the catalytic subunits of the polymerases (pol1-L868M, pol2-M644G and pol3-L612M) lead to the increased incorporation of ribonucleotides during DNA replication, providing an in vivo label with which to track the contribution of each polymerase to the fully replicated genome. Yeast strains used in this study are deleted for rnh201, encoding the catalytic subunit of the RNase H2 gene so that embedded ribonucleotides are not rapidly removed by ribonucleotide excision repair following DNA replication. Analysis of this data demonstrates that polymerase alpha contributes to the fully replicated genome.
Project description:We report the application of high through-put tag sequencing to measure the location and strand of DNA embedded ribonucleotides in the yeast genome. Mutations in the catalytic subunits of the polymerases (pol1-L868M, pol2-M644G and pol3-L612M) lead to the increased incorporation of ribonucleotides during DNA replication, providing an in vivo label with which to track the contribution of each polymerase to the fully replicated genome. Yeast strains used in this study are deleted for rnh201, encoding the catalytic subunit of the RNase H2 gene so that embedded ribonucleotides are not rapidly removed by ribonucleotide excision repair following DNA replication. Analysis of this data demonstrates that polymerase alpha contributes to the fully replicated genome. Sequencing of DNA embedded ribonucleotides in S. cerevisiae strains to map the contribution of replicative polymerases to the fully replicated genome.