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A tissue-specific self-interacting chromatin domain forms independently of enhancer-promoter interactions.

ABSTRACT: Self-interacting chromatin domains encompass genes and their cis-regulatory elements; however, the three-dimensional form a domain takes, whether this relies on enhancer-promoter interactions, and the processes necessary to mediate the formation and maintenance of such domains, remain unclear. To examine these questions, here we use a combination of high-resolution chromosome conformation capture, a non-denaturing form of fluorescence in situ hybridisation and super-resolution imaging to study a 70?kb domain encompassing the mouse ?-globin regulatory locus. We show that this region forms an erythroid-specific, decompacted, self-interacting domain, delimited by frequently apposed CTCF/cohesin binding sites early in terminal erythroid differentiation, and does not require transcriptional elongation for maintenance of the domain structure. Formation of this domain does not rely on interactions between the ?-globin genes and their major enhancers, suggesting a transcription-independent mechanism for establishment of the domain. However, absence of the major enhancers does alter internal domain interactions. Formation of a loop domain therefore appears to be a mechanistic process that occurs irrespective of the specific interactions within.

SUBMITTER: Brown JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6155075 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A tissue-specific self-interacting chromatin domain forms independently of enhancer-promoter interactions.

Brown Jill M JM Roberts Nigel A NA Graham Bryony B Waithe Dominic D Lagerholm Christoffer C Telenius Jelena M JM De Ornellas Sara S Oudelaar A Marieke AM Scott Caroline C Szczerbal Izabela I Babbs Christian C Kassouf Mira T MT Hughes Jim R JR Higgs Douglas R DR Buckle Veronica J VJ

Nature communications 20180921 1

Self-interacting chromatin domains encompass genes and their cis-regulatory elements; however, the three-dimensional form a domain takes, whether this relies on enhancer-promoter interactions, and the processes necessary to mediate the formation and maintenance of such domains, remain unclear. To examine these questions, here we use a combination of high-resolution chromosome conformation capture, a non-denaturing form of fluorescence in situ hybridisation and super-resolution imaging to study a ...[more]

PMID: 30242161

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Project description:A variety of self-interacting domains, defined at different levels of resolution, have been described in mammalian genomes. These include Chromatin Compartments (A and B), Topologically Associated Domains (TADs), contact domains, sub-TADs, insulated neighborhoods and frequently interacting regions (FIREs). Whereas many studies have found the organisation of self-interacting domains to be conserved across cell types, some do form in a lineage-specific manner. However, it is not clear to what degree such tissue-specific structures result from processes related to gene activity such as enhancer-promoter interactions or whether they form earlier during lineage commitment and are therefore likely to be prerequisite for promoting gene expression. To examine these models of genome organisation in detail, we used a combination of high-resolution chromosome conformation capture, a newly-developed form of quantitative fluorescence in-situ hybridisation and super-resolution imaging to study a 70 kb self-interacting domain containing the mouse alpha-globin locus. To understand how this self-interacting domain is established, we studied this structure when the genes are inactive and during erythroid differentiation when the genes are progressively switched on. In contrast to many current models of long-range gene regulation, we show that an erythroid-specific, decompacted self-interacting domain, delimited by convergent CTCF/cohesin binding sites, forms prior to the onset of robust gene expression. Using previously established mouse models we also show that formation of the self-interacting domain does not rely on interactions between the alpha-globin genes and their enhancers or on tissue-specific changes in CTCF binding. Rather, formation of the domain simply depends on the presence of activated lineage-specific cis-elements driving a transcription-independent mechanism for opening chromatin throughout the 70 kb region to create a permissive environment for gene expression. These findings are consistent with a model of loop-extrusion in which all segments of chromatin within a region delimited by CTCF boundary elements contact each other. Our findings suggest that activation of tissue-specific element(s) within such a self-interacting region is sufficient to influence all chromatin within such a domain.

Dataset Information

A tissue-specific self-interacting chromatin domain forms independently of enhancer-promoter interactions.

Publications

A tissue-specific self-interacting chromatin domain forms independently of enhancer-promoter interactions.

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