Project description:The Tcra/Tcrd locus undergoes V(D)J recombination in CD4−CD8− double-negative (DN) thymocytes and CD4+CD8+ double-positive (DP) thymocytes to generate diverse TCRδ and TCRα repertoires, respectively. Here we reveal a Tcra/Tcrd locus chromatin interaction network in DN thymocytes that is formed by interactions between CTCF-binding elements (CBEs). Disruption of a discrete chromatin loop encompassing the Dδ, Jδ and Cδ gene segments allows a single Vδ segment to frequently contact and rearrange to Dδ and Jδ segments and dominate the adult TCRδ repertoire. Disruption of this loop also narrows the TCRα repertoire, which, we believe, follows as a consequence of the restricted TCRδ repertoire. Hence, a single CTCF-mediated chromatin loop directly regulates TCRδ diversity and indirectly regulates TCRα diversity. Examination of chromatin loops by 4C-seq from 4 viewpoints in two lymphoid cell compartments: CD4-CD8- thymocytes and naïve B splenocytes.
Project description:The Tcra/Tcrd locus undergoes V(D)J recombination in CD4−CD8− double-negative (DN) thymocytes and CD4+CD8+ double-positive (DP) thymocytes to generate diverse TCRδ and TCRα repertoires, respectively. Here we reveal a Tcra/Tcrd locus chromatin interaction network in DN thymocytes that is formed by interactions between CTCF-binding elements (CBEs). Disruption of a discrete chromatin loop encompassing the Dδ, Jδ and Cδ gene segments allows a single Vδ segment to frequently contact and rearrange to Dδ and Jδ segments and dominate the adult TCRδ repertoire. Disruption of this loop also narrows the TCRα repertoire, which, we believe, follows as a consequence of the restricted TCRδ repertoire. Hence, a single CTCF-mediated chromatin loop directly regulates TCRδ diversity and indirectly regulates TCRα diversity.
Project description:We explored the relationship between the evolutionary dynamics of CTCF binding and the functional stability of higher order genome structures, by performing ChIP-seq experiments in closely related Mus species or strains and intersecting with Hi-C-derived topologically associating domains (TADs) and expression data. Experiments were performed in adult male liver samples, using input control sets.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.