Project description:The histone variant H2A.Z plays key roles in gene expression, DNA repair, and centromere function. H2A.Z deposition is controlled by SWR-C chromatin remodeling enzymes that catalyze the nucleosomal exchange of canonical H2A with H2A.Z. Here we report that acetylation of histone H3 lysine 56 (H3-K56Ac) alters the substrate specificity of SWR-C, leading to promiscuous dimer exchange where either H2A.Z or H2A can be exchanged from nucleosomes. This result is confirmed in vivo, where genome-wide analysis demonstrates widespread decreases in H2A.Z levels in yeast mutants with hyperacetylated H3K56. Our work also suggests that a conserved SWR-C subunit may function as a M-bM-^@M-^\lockM-bM-^@M-^] that prevents removal of H2A.Z from nucleosomes. Our study identifies a histone modification that regulates a chromatin remodeling reaction and provides insights into how histone variants and nucleosome turnover can be controlled by chromatin regulators. H2A.Z ChIP seq experiments in mutants with constitutive H3K56ac
Project description:The histone variant H2A.Z plays key roles in gene expression, DNA repair, and centromere function. H2A.Z deposition is controlled by SWR-C chromatin remodeling enzymes that catalyze the nucleosomal exchange of canonical H2A with H2A.Z. Here we report that acetylation of histone H3 lysine 56 (H3-K56Ac) alters the substrate specificity of SWR-C, leading to promiscuous dimer exchange where either H2A.Z or H2A can be exchanged from nucleosomes. This result is confirmed in vivo, where genome-wide analysis demonstrates widespread decreases in H2A.Z levels in yeast mutants with hyperacetylated H3K56. Our work also suggests that a conserved SWR-C subunit may function as a “lock” that prevents removal of H2A.Z from nucleosomes. Our study identifies a histone modification that regulates a chromatin remodeling reaction and provides insights into how histone variants and nucleosome turnover can be controlled by chromatin regulators.
Project description:The variant histone H2A.Z is inserted into nucleosomes immediately downstream of promoters and is important for transcription. The site-specific deposition of H2A.Z is catalyzed by SWR, a conserved chromatin remodeler with affinity for promoter-proximal nucleosome depleted regions (NDRs) and histone acetylation. By comparing the genomic distribution of H2A.Z in wild-type and SWR-deficient cells, we found that SWR is also responsible for depositing H2A.Z at thousands of non-canonical sites not directly linked to NDRs or histone acetylation. To understand the targeting mechanism of H2A.Z, we presented SWR with a library of nucleosomes isolated from yeast and characterized those preferred by SWR. We found that SWR prefers nucleosomes associated with intergenic over coding regions, especially when polyadenine tracks are present. Insertion of polyadenine sequences into recombinant nucleosomes near the H2A-H2B binding site stimulated the H2A.Z insertion activity of SWR. Therefore, the genome is encoded with information contributing to remodeler-mediated targeting of H2A.Z.
Project description:Acetylation of histone tails has long been associated with gene activation. Exactly how acetylation regulates gene expression is not fully known. Acetylation events at specific sites or collections of sites on histones elicit distinct outcomes. Here we examine the downstream consequences of histone acetylation by the histone H4 acetyltransferase NuA4 on a genomic scale. Evidence is presented that Bdf1, which is known to bind to acetylated lysine H4 tails in vitro, binds to nucleosomes in vivo and that this binding is dependent upon Esa1, the catalytic subunit of NuA4. Loss of NuA4 results in a coordinate depletion of Bdf1, the transcription complex assembly factor TFIID, and the H2A.Z assembly complex SWR-C at highly acetylated promoter regions. This finding is consistent with known interactions between Bdf1 and TFIID and SWR-C. Loss of Bdf1 results in little or no depletion of TFIID or SWR-C at these promoter regions, possibly due to substitution by the Bdf1 paralog Bdf2. Consistent with this possibility, loss of Bdf1 results in accumulation of Bdf2 at sites normally bound by Bdf1. Together, the findings presented here strengthen the proposed cascade of events whereby nucleosome H4 acetylation by NuA4 at promoters target Bdf1, which then recruits TFIID and SWR-C to assemble the transcription machinery. Keywords: chIP-chip, histone acetylation, transcription factor recruitment
Project description:Both, acetylation of histones and of histone variant H2A.Z are conserved features of eukaryotic transcription start sites (TSSs) and both features appear to be critical for correct transcription initiation. However, complex patterns of transcriptional regulation have complicated the establishment of functional links between histone acetylation, H2A.Z deposition and their importance in transcription regulation. To elucidate these links, we took advantage of the unusual genome organization in Trypanosoma brucei, a highly divergent eukaryote. In T. brucei genes are organized in long polycistronic transcription units, drastically reducing the sites of transcription initiation. Employing a highly sensitive and quantitative mass-spectrometry-based approach, we quantified the genome-wide histone acetylation and methylation pattern and identified various acetyl and methyl marks exclusively enriched at TSSs In addition, we show that deletion of histone acetyltransferase 2 results in a loss of H4 acetylation at TSSs, a loss of H2A.Z deposition at TSSs and a shift in the sites of transcription initiation. Combined, our findings demonstrate an evolutionary conserved link between histone H4 acetylation, H2A.Z deposition and RNA transcription initiation.
Project description:H2A.Z is a highly conserved histone variant involved in several key nuclear processes. It is incorporated into promoters by SWR-C-related chromatin remodeling complexes, but whether it is also actively excluded from non-promoter regions is not clear. Here, we provide genomic and biochemical evidence that RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) elongation-associated histone chaperones FACT and Spt6 both contribute to restricting H2A.Z from intragenic regions. In the absence of FACT or Spt6, the lack of H2A.Z eviction, coupled to its pervasive incorporation by mislocalized SWR-C, alters chromatin composition and contributes to cryptic initiation. Thus, chaperone-mediated H2A.Z removal is crucial for restricting the chromatin signature of gene promoters, which otherwise may license or promote cryptic transcription.
Project description:Post-translational histone modifications and the dynamics of histone variant H2A.Z are key mechanisms underlying the floral transition. In yeast, SWR1-C and NuA4-C mediate the deposition of H2A.Z and the acetylation of histone H4, H2A and H2A.Z respectively. Yaf9 is a subunit shared by both chromatin remodeling complexes. The significance of the two Arabidopsis YAF9 homologs, YAF9A and YAF9B, is unknown. We performed a transcriptomic analysis of wild-type and yaf9a yaf9b double mutant seedlings in order to reveal target genes whose transcription is regulated by YAF9 proteins.
Project description:The histone variant H2A.Z is a genome-wide signature of nucleosomes proximal to eukaryotic regulatory DNA. While the multi-subunit SWR1 chromatin remodeling complex is known to catalyze ATP-dependent deposition of H2A.Z, the mechanism of recruitment to S. cerevisiae promoters has been unclear. A sensitive assay for competitive binding of di-nucleosome substrates revealed that SWR1 preferentially binds long nucleosome-free DNA adjoining core particles, allowing discrimination of gene promoters over gene bodies. We traced the critical DNA binding component of SWR1 to the conserved Swc2/YL1 subunit, whose activity is required for both SWR1 binding and H2A.Z incorporation in vivo. Histone acetylation by NuA4 enhances SWR1 binding, but the interaction with nucleosome-free DNA is the major determinant. ‘Hierarchical cooperation’ between high affinity DNA- and low affinity histone modification-binding factors may reconcile the large disparity in affinities for chromatin substrates, and unify classical control by DNA-binding factors with post-translational histone modifications and ATP-dependent nucleosome mobility. Swr1 TAP IF of various mutants
Project description:Histone acetylation and deposition of H2A.Z variant are integral aspects of active transcrip-tion. In Drosophila, the single DOMINO chromatin regulator complex is thought to combine both activities via an unknown mechanism. Here we show that alternative isoforms of the DOMINO nucleosome remodeling ATPase, DOM-A and DOM-B, directly specify two distinct multi-subunit complexes. Both complexes are necessary for transcriptional regulation but through different mechanisms. The DOM-B complex incorporates H2A.V (the fly ortholog of H2A.Z) genome-wide in an ATP-dependent manner, like the yeast SWR1 complex. The DOM-A complex, instead, functions as an ATP-independent histone acetyltransferase com-plex similar to the yeast NuA4, targeting lysine 12 of histone H4. Our work provides an in-structive example of how different evolutionary strategies lead to similar functional separation. In yeast and humans, nucleosome remodeling and histone acetyltransferase complexes orig-inate from gene duplication and paralog specification. Drosophila generates the same diversi-ty by alternative splicing of a single gene.