Human centromere repositioning activates transcription and opens chromatin fibre structure [Agilent 'open' chromatin-chip]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: This study was designed to investigate the chromatin structure of human centromeres. Human centromeres appear as constrictions on mitotic chromosomes and form a platform for kinetochore assembly in mitosis. Biophysical experiments led to a suggestion that repetitive DNA at centromeric regions form a compact scaffold necessary for function, but this was revised when neocentromeres were discovered on non-repetitive DNA. To test whether centromeres have a special chromatin structure we have analysed the architecture of a neocentromere. Centromere formation is accompanied by RNA pol II recruitment and active transcription to form a decompacted, negatively supercoiled domain enriched in ‘open’ chromatin fibres. In contrast, centromerisation causes a spreading of repressive epigenetic marks to surrounding regions, delimited by H3K27me3 polycomb boundaries and divergent genes. This flanking domain is transcriptionally silent and partially remodelled to form ‘compact’ chromatin, similar to satellite-containing DNA sequences, and exhibits genomic instability. We suggest transcription disrupts chromatin to provide a foundation for kinetochore formation whilst compact pericentromeric heterochromatin generates mechanical rigidity.
Project description:This study was designed to investigate the chromatin structure of human centromeres. Human centromeres appear as constrictions on mitotic chromosomes and form a platform for kinetochore assembly in mitosis. Biophysical experiments led to a suggestion that repetitive DNA at centromeric regions form a compact scaffold necessary for function, but this was revised when neocentromeres were discovered on non-repetitive DNA. To test whether centromeres have a special chromatin structure we have analysed the architecture of a neocentromere. Centromere formation is accompanied by RNA pol II recruitment and active transcription to form a decompacted, negatively supercoiled domain enriched in ‘open’ chromatin fibres. In contrast, centromerisation causes a spreading of repressive epigenetic marks to surrounding regions, delimited by H3K27me3 polycomb boundaries and divergent genes. This flanking domain is transcriptionally silent and partially remodelled to form ‘compact’ chromatin, similar to satellite-containing DNA sequences, and exhibits genomic instability. We suggest transcription disrupts chromatin to provide a foundation for kinetochore formation whilst compact pericentromeric heterochromatin generates mechanical rigidity.
Project description:This study was designed to investigate the chromatin structure of human centromeres. Human centromeres appear as constrictions on mitotic chromosomes and form a platform for kinetochore assembly in mitosis. Biophysical experiments led to a suggestion that repetitive DNA at centromeric regions form a compact scaffold necessary for function, but this was revised when neocentromeres were discovered on non-repetitive DNA. To test whether centromeres have a special chromatin structure we have analysed the architecture of a neocentromere. Centromere formation is accompanied by RNA pol II recruitment and active transcription to form a decompacted, negatively supercoiled domain enriched in ‘open’ chromatin fibres. In contrast, centromerisation causes a spreading of repressive epigenetic marks to surrounding regions, delimited by H3K27me3 polycomb boundaries and divergent genes. This flanking domain is transcriptionally silent and partially remodelled to form ‘compact’ chromatin, similar to satellite-containing DNA sequences, and exhibits genomic instability. We suggest transcription disrupts chromatin to provide a foundation for kinetochore formation whilst compact pericentromeric heterochromatin generates mechanical rigidity.
Project description:Human centromeres appear as constrictions on mitotic chromosomes and form a platform for kinetochore assembly in mitosis. Biophysical experiments led to a suggestion that repetitive DNA at centromeric regions form a compact scaffold necessary for function, but this was revised when neocentromeres were discovered on non-repetitive DNA. To test whether centromeres have a special chromatin structure we have analysed the architecture of a neocentromere. Centromere formation is accompanied by RNA pol II recruitment and active transcription to form a decompacted, negatively supercoiled domain enriched in ‘open’ chromatin fibres. In contrast, centromerisation causes a spreading of repressive epigenetic marks to surrounding regions, delimited by H3K27me3 polycomb boundaries and divergent genes. This flanking domain is transcriptionally silent and partially remodelled to form ‘compact’ chromatin, similar to satellite-containing DNA sequences, and exhibits genomic instability. We suggest transcription disrupts chromatin to provide a foundation for kinetochore formation whilst compact pericentromeric heterochromatin generates mechanical rigidity.
Project description:Human centromeres appear as constrictions on mitotic chromosomes and form a platform for kinetochore assembly in mitosis. Biophysical experiments led to a suggestion that repetitive DNA at centromeric regions form a compact scaffold necessary for function, but this was revised when neocentromeres were discovered on non-repetitive DNA. To test whether centromeres have a special chromatin structure we have analysed the architecture of a neocentromere. Centromere formation is accompanied by RNA pol II recruitment and active transcription to form a decompacted, negatively supercoiled domain enriched in ‘open’ chromatin fibres. In contrast, centromerisation causes a spreading of repressive epigenetic marks to surrounding regions, delimited by H3K27me3 polycomb boundaries and divergent genes. This flanking domain is transcriptionally silent and partially remodelled to form ‘compact’ chromatin, similar to satellite-containing DNA sequences, and exhibits genomic instability. We suggest transcription disrupts chromatin to provide a foundation for kinetochore formation whilst compact pericentromeric heterochromatin generates mechanical rigidity.
Project description:We used native ChIP-seq of CENP-A-containing particles from normal centromeres on alpha-satellite DNA and three naturally-occurring neocentromeres to test the proposed models for the major form of the fundamental repeating unit of centromeric chromatin. We found that the predominant form of the CENP-A particle at the centromere is an octameric nucleosome with loose terminal DNA. Additionally, we found CENP-A nucleosomes are strongly phased on the 171 bp alpha-satellite monomers of normal centromeres, and also display strong positioning and neocentromeres. Comparison of CENP-A and bulk nucleosome DNA lengths and positions in three different human neocentromere-containing cell lines
Project description:In most eukaryotes, the centromere is epigenetically defined by nucleosomes that contain the histone H3 variant centromere protein A (CENP-A). Specific targeting of the CENP-A-loading chaperone to the centromere is vital for stable centromere propagation; however, the existence of ectopic centromeres (neocentromeres) indicates that this chaperone can function in different chromatin environments. The mechanism responsible for accommodating the CENP-A chaperone at novel chromatin regions is poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of transient, immature neocentromeres in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which show reduced association with the CENP-A chaperone Scm3 attributable to persistence of the histone H2A variant H2A.Z. Following acquisition of adjacent heterochromatin or relocation of the immature neocentromeres to subtelomeric regions, H2A.Z was depleted and Scm3 was replenished, leading to subsequent stabilization of the neocentromeres. These findings provide novel insights into histone variant-mediated epigenetic control of neocentromere establishment. Comparison of chromosomal distributions of centromeric proteins and heterochromatin proteins between the NC survivors and their derivatives.
Project description:In most eukaryotes, the centromere is epigenetically defined by nucleosomes that contain the histone H3 variant centromere protein A (CENP-A). Specific targeting of the CENP-A-loading chaperone to the centromere is vital for stable centromere propagation; however, the existence of ectopic centromeres (neocentromeres) indicates that this chaperone can function in different chromatin environments. The mechanism responsible for accommodating the CENP-A chaperone at novel chromatin regions is poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of transient, immature neocentromeres in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which show reduced association with the CENP-A chaperone Scm3 attributable to persistence of the histone H2A variant H2A.Z. Following acquisition of adjacent heterochromatin or relocation of the immature neocentromeres to subtelomeric regions, H2A.Z was depleted and Scm3 was replenished, leading to subsequent stabilization of the neocentromeres. These findings provide novel insights into histone variant-mediated epigenetic control of neocentromere establishment.
Project description:We used native ChIP-seq of CENP-A-containing particles from normal centromeres on alpha-satellite DNA and three naturally-occurring neocentromeres to test the proposed models for the major form of the fundamental repeating unit of centromeric chromatin. We found that the predominant form of the CENP-A particle at the centromere is an octameric nucleosome with loose terminal DNA. Additionally, we found CENP-A nucleosomes are strongly phased on the 171 bp alpha-satellite monomers of normal centromeres, and also display strong positioning and neocentromeres.
Project description:Many existing centromeres may have originated as neocentromeres that activated de novo from non-centromeric regions. However, the evolutionary path from a neocentromere to a mature centromere has been elusive. Here we analyzed the centromeres of six chromosomes that were transferred from maize into oat as the result of an inter-species cross. Centromere size and location were assayed by chromatin immunoprecipitation for the histone variant CENH3, which is a defining feature of functional centromeres. Maize and oat are highly divergent and differ in genome size by four fold. Two isolates of maize chromosome proved to contain neocentromeres in the sense that they had moved from the original site, whereas the remaining seven centromeres (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10) were retained in the same area in both species. In all cases the CENH3-binding domains were dramatically expanded to encompass a larger area in the oat background (~4 Mb) than the average centromere size in maize (~2 Mb). The expansion of maize centromeres appeared to be restricted by the transcription of genes located in regions flanking the original centromeres. The results from the current study provide evidence that (1) centromere size is regulated; (2) centromere sizes tend to be uniform within a species regardless of chromosome size or origin of the centromere; and (3) neocentromeres emerge and expand preferentially in gene poor regions. Our results, together with data from several animal species, suggest that centromere size expansion may be a key factor in the survival of neocentric chromosomes in natural populations.
Project description:The focal attachment of the kinetochore to the centromere core is essential for genome maintenance, yet the highly repetitive nature of human centromeres limits our understanding of their chromatin organization. We demonstrate that single-molecule chromatin fiber sequencing can uniquely resolve chromatin organization within centromeres at single-molecule and single-nucleotide resolution. We find that the centromere core contains a dichotomous chromatin organization not found elsewhere in the genome, which is characterized by highly accessible chromatin patches heterogeneously punctuated amongst tightly compacted nucleosome arrays. These highly accessible chromatin patches correspond to sites of kinetochore attachment, and clustered CENP-B occupancy within these patches phase nucleosome arrays to the alpha-satellite repeat. This dichotomous chromatin organization is conserved between humans despite the marked divergence of the underlying alpha-satellite organization and is similarly conserved in primate centromeres that lack alpha-satellite repeats, indicating that functional conservation within centromeres is mediated at the level of chromatin, not DNA.