Project description:Gene expression in the obligatory aerobic acetic acid bacterium Gluconobacter oxydans was shown to respond to oxygen limitation, but the regulators involved are unknown. In this study, we analyzed the function of a transcriptional regulator named GoxR, which belongs to the FNR family. Here, we applied ChAP-seq analysis with a strep-tagged GoxR version to identify binding sites of this regulator in the genome of G. oxydans.
Project description:Chromatin ADP-ribosylation regulates important cellular processes. However, the exact location and magnitude of chromatin ADP-ribosylation are largely unknown. A robust and versatile method for assessing chromatin ADP-ribosylation is therefore crucial for further understanding its function. Here, we present a chromatin affinity precipitation method based on the high specificity and avidity of two well-characterized ADP-ribose binding domains to map chromatin ADP-ribosylation at the genome-wide scale and at specific loci. Our ADPr-ChAP method revealed that in cells exposed to oxidative stress, ADP-ribosylation of chromatin scaled with histone density, with highest levels at heterochromatic sites and depletion at active promoters. Furthermore, in growth factor-induced adipocyte differentiation, increased chromatin ADP-ribosylation was observed at PPARγ target genes, whose expression is ADP-ribosylation-dependent. In combination with deep-sequencing and conventional ChIP, the established ADPr-ChAP provides a valuable resource for the bioinformatic comparison of ADP-ribosylation with other chromatin modifications and for addressing its role in other biologically important processes.
Project description:Coordination of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis is crucial for efficient cell proliferation. In Bacillus subtilis the nucleoid occlusion protein Noc protects chromosomes by associating with the chromosome and preventing cell division in its vicinity. Using protein localization, ChAP-on-Chip and bioinformatics, we have identified a consensus Noc-binding DNA sequence (NBS), and show that Noc is targeted to about 70 discrete regions scattered around the chromosome, though absent from a large region around the replication terminus. Purified Noc bound specifically to an NBS in vitro. NBSs inserted near the replication terminus bound Noc-YFP and caused a delay in cell division. An autonomous plasmid carrying an NBS recruited Noc-YFP and conferred a severe Noc-dependent inhibition of cell division. This shows that Noc is a potent inhibitor of division but that its activity is strictly localized by interaction with NBS sites in vivo. We propose that Noc not only serves as a spatial regulator of cell division to protect the nucleoid, but also a timing device with an important role in the co-ordination of chromosome segregation and cell division.