Dataset Information

Combinatorial, site-specific requirement for heterochromatic silencing factors in the elimination of nucleosome-free regions.

ABSTRACT: High-resolution nucleosome occupancy maps of heterochromatic regions of wild-type and silencing-defective mutants of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe revealed that heterochromatin induces the elimination of nucleosome-free regions (NFRs). NFRs associated with transcription initiation sites as well as those not associated with promoters are affected. We dissected the roles of the histone H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4 and the HP1 proteins Swi6 and Chp2, as well as the two catalytic activities of the SHREC histone deacetylase (HDAC)/ATPase effector complex. Strikingly, different DNA sites have distinct combinatorial requirements for these factors: Five classes of NFRs were identified that are eliminated by silencing factors through a mechanistic hierarchy governed by Clr4. The SHREC HDAC activity plays a major role in the elimination of class I-IV NFRs by antagonizing the action of RSC, a remodeling complex implicated in NFR formation. We propose that heterochromatin formation involves the deployment in several sequence-specific mechanisms to eliminate gaps between nucleosomes, thereby blocking access to the DNA.

SUBMITTER: Garcia JF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2922504 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Combinatorial, site-specific requirement for heterochromatic silencing factors in the elimination of nucleosome-free regions.

Garcia Jennifer F JF Dumesic Phillip A PA Hartley Paul D PD El-Samad Hana H Madhani Hiten D HD

Genes & development 20100730 16

High-resolution nucleosome occupancy maps of heterochromatic regions of wild-type and silencing-defective mutants of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe revealed that heterochromatin induces the elimination of nucleosome-free regions (NFRs). NFRs associated with transcription initiation sites as well as those not associated with promoters are affected. We dissected the roles of the histone H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4 and the HP1 proteins Swi6 and Chp2, as well as the two catalytic activi ...[more]

PMID: 20675407

Similar Datasets

Project description:Abstract: In the yeast S. pombe, multiple chromatin-modifying enzymes are required for heterochromatin formation, yet how their actions alter chromatin structure to block access to DNAby the transcriptional machinery is unknown. We constructed high-resolution nucleosome occupancy maps of heterochromatic regions in wild-type strains and in mutants lacking the H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4 or one of the two activities of the silencing effector complex SHREC. Fourier analysis reveals that these enzymes do not increase the regularity of nucleosome spacing. Rather, their principal effect was to induce the elimination of nucleosome-free regions (NFRs). Both NFRs associated with transcription initiation sites as well as those not associated with promoters are affected. As in S. cerevisiae, repressed genes in euchromatin retain their NFRs. Thus, NFR elimination cannot be explained as a secondary consequence of repression. The maps also show that TFIIIC boundary elements have NFRs resistant to silencing, suggesting a potential role in preventing lateral spread of heterochromatin. NFR elimination offers a mechanism by which heterochromatin restricts access of the transcriptional machinery to DNA. Nucleosome positions in either heterochromatin or euchromatin were mapped in various mutants to determine whether chromatin structure is altered upon heterochromatic silencing. Eight strains were assayed for nucleosome positioning in heterochromatin while two strains were assayed for nucleosome positioning in euchromatin. Two biological replicates were assayed for each strain. No dye swaps were done. RNA transcripts were also mapped using the heterochromatin tiling arrays to determine where RNA transcripts accumulate in heterochromatin. Three strains were assayed for transcripts in heterochromatin by hybridizing cy5-labeled cDNA created from total RNA against cy3-labeled cDNA created from RNA synthesized from sonicated genomic DNA. Two biological replicates were assayed for each strain.

Dataset Information

Combinatorial, site-specific requirement for heterochromatic silencing factors in the elimination of nucleosome-free regions.

Publications

Combinatorial, site-specific requirement for heterochromatic silencing factors in the elimination of nucleosome-free regions.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets