Project description:Transcription is a major obstacle for replication fork progression and transcription-replication collisions constitute a main cause of genome instability. At a genome-wide scale these obstacles can be detected by the accumulation of the replicative Rrm3 helicase required for RF progression through protein obstacles. Here we show that FACT, a chromatin-reorganizing complex that swaps nucleosomes around the RNA polymerase during transcription elongation and that also has a role in replication, is needed to resolve transcription-replication conflicts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Importantly, ChIP-chip analyses of Rrm3 reveal that replication progression impairment in FACT mutants occur genome-wide, but preferentially at highly transcribed regions. ChIP-chip studies were perfomed with antibodies against Rrm3-FLAG in the yeast S. cerevisiae.
Project description:ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers are commonly mutated in human cancer. Mammalian SWI/SNF complexes comprise three conserved multi-subunit chromatin remodelers (cBAF, ncBAF and PBAF) that share the BRG1 (also known as SMARCA4) subunit responsible for the main ATPase activity. BRG1 is the most frequently mutated Snf2-like ATPase in cancer. Here we have investigated the role of SWI/SNF in genome instability, a hallmark of cancer cells, given its role in transcription, DNA replication and DNA damage repair. We show that depletion of BRG1 increases R-loops and R-loop-dependent DNA breaks, as well as transcription-replication conflicts. BRG1 colocalizes with R-loops and replication fork blocks, as determined by FANCD2 foci, with BRG1 depletion being epistatic to FANCD2 silencing. Our study, extended to other components of SWI/SNF, uncovers a key role of the SWI/SNF complex, in particular cBAF, in helping resolve R-loop-mediated transcription-replication conflicts; thus, unveiling a novel mechanism by which chromatin remodeling protects genome integrity.
Project description:During the S-phase, conflicts of replication forks with RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) threaten genomic stability. While the PAF complex can resolve such conflicts during elongation, the particularly deleterious conflicts with stalling RNAPII are resolved by an as of yet unknown mechanism. Here we show that the MYCN oncoprotein forms a ternary complex with RNAPII and the nuclear RNA exosome, a 3’‑5’ exoribonuclease complex. Together with TFIIS, this complex restarts promoter‑proximal RNAPII, allows escape from co-directional transcription-replication conflicts and prevents double‑strand break accumulation. In cells lacking RNA exosome function, MYCN globally terminates transcription. MYCN-mediated termination is triggered by ATM‑dependent recruitment of BRCA1, which then stabilizes nuclear mRNA decapping complexes. Disruption of mRNA decapping activates ATR, indicative of head-on transcription-replication conflicts, and inhibits DNA replication. We propose that MYCN resolves transcription-replication conflicts via this two-step mechanism to sustain the rapid proliferation of neuroendocrine tumor cells.
Project description:During the S-phase, conflicts of replication forks with RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) threaten genomic stability. While the PAF complex can resolve such conflicts during elongation, the particularly deleterious conflicts with stalling RNAPII are resolved by an as of yet unknown mechanism. Here we show that the MYCN oncoprotein forms a ternary complex with RNAPII and the nuclear RNA exosome, a 3’‑5’ exoribonuclease complex. Together with TFIIS, this complex restarts promoter‑proximal RNAPII, allows escape from co-directional transcription-replication conflicts and prevents double‑strand break accumulation. In cells lacking RNA exosome function, MYCN globally terminates transcription. MYCN-mediated termination is triggered by ATM‑dependent recruitment of BRCA1, which then stabilizes nuclear mRNA decapping complexes. Disruption of mRNA decapping activates ATR, indicative of head-on transcription-replication conflicts, and inhibits DNA replication. We propose that MYCN resolves transcription-replication conflicts via this two-step mechanism to sustain the rapid proliferation of neuroendocrine tumor cells.
Project description:During the S-phase, conflicts of replication forks with RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) threaten genomic stability. While the PAF complex can resolve such conflicts during elongation, the particularly deleterious conflicts with stalling RNAPII are resolved by an as of yet unknown mechanism. Here we show that the MYCN oncoprotein forms a ternary complex with RNAPII and the nuclear RNA exosome, a 3’‑5’ exoribonuclease complex. Together with TFIIS, this complex restarts promoter‑proximal RNAPII, allows escape from co-directional transcription-replication conflicts and prevents double‑strand break accumulation. In cells lacking RNA exosome function, MYCN globally terminates transcription. MYCN-mediated termination is triggered by ATM‑dependent recruitment of BRCA1, which then stabilizes nuclear mRNA decapping complexes. Disruption of mRNA decapping activates ATR, indicative of head-on transcription-replication conflicts, and inhibits DNA replication. We propose that MYCN resolves transcription-replication conflicts via this two-step mechanism to sustain the rapid proliferation of neuroendocrine tumor cells.
Project description:FACT mediates cohesin function on chromatin Cohesin is a key regulator of genome architecture with roles in sister chromatid cohesion and the organisation of higher-order structures during interphase and mitosis. The recruitment and mobility of cohesin complexes on DNA are restricted by nucleosomes. Here we show that cohesin role in chromosome organization requires the histone chaperone FACT. Depletion of FACT in metaphase cells affects cohesin stability on chromatin reducing its accumulation at pericentric regions and binding on chromosome arms. Using Hi-C, we show that cohesin-dependent TAD (Topological Associated Domains)-like structures in G1 and metaphase chromosomes are disrupted in the absence of FACT. Surprisingly, sister chromatid cohesion is intact in FACT-depleted cells, although chromosome segregation failure is observed. Our results uncover a role for FACT in genome organisation by facilitating cohesin dependent compartmentalization of chromosomes into loop domains.
Project description:The stability of the genome is occasionally challenged by the formation of DNA-RNA hybrids and R-loops, which can be influenced by the chromatin context. This is mainly due to the fact that DNA-RNA hybrids hamper the progression of replication forks, leading to fork stalling and, ultimately, DNA breaks. Through a specific screening of chromatin modifiers performed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have found that the Rtt109 histone acetyltransferase is involved in several steps of R-loop-metabolism and their associated genetic instability. On one hand, Rtt109 prevents DNA-RNA hybridization by the acetylation of histone H3 lysines 14 and 23, and on the other hand, it is involved in the repair of replication-born DNA breaks, such as those that can be caused by R-loops, by acetylating lysines 14 and 56. In addition, Rtt109 loss renders cells highly sensitive to replication stress in combination with R-loop-accumulating THO-complex mutants. Our data evidence that the chromatin context simultaneously influences the occurrence of DNA-RNA hybrid-associated DNA damage and its repair, adding complexity to the source of R-loop-associated genetic instability.
Project description:Transcription is a major obstacle for replication fork progression and transcription-replication collisions constitute a main cause of genome instability. At a genome-wide scale these obstacles can be detected by the accumulation of the replicative Rrm3 helicase required for RF progression through protein obstacles. Here we show that FACT, a chromatin-reorganizing complex that swaps nucleosomes around the RNA polymerase during transcription elongation and that also has a role in replication, is needed to resolve transcription-replication conflicts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Importantly, ChIP-chip analyses of Rrm3 reveal that replication progression impairment in FACT mutants occur genome-wide, but preferentially at highly transcribed regions.