Project description:Specialized chromatin containing CENP-A nucleosomes instead of H3 nucleosomes is found at all centromeres. However, the mechanisms that specify the locations at which CENP-A chromatin is assembled remain elusive in organisms with regional, epigenetically regulated centromeres. It is known that normal centromeric DNA is transcribed in several systems including the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here, we show that factors which preserve stable histone H3 chromatin during transcription also play a role in preventing promiscuous CENP-A(Cnp1) deposition in fission yeast. Mutations in the histone chaperone FACT impair the maintenance of H3 chromatin on transcribed regions and promote widespread CENP-A(Cnp1) incorporation at non-centromeric sites. FACT has little or no effect on CENP-A(Cnp1) assembly at endogenous centromeres where CENP-A(Cnp1) is normally assembled. In contrast, Clr6 complex II (Clr6-CII; equivalent to Rpd3S) histone deacetylase function has a more subtle impact on the stability of transcribed H3 chromatin and acts to prevent the ectopic accumulation of CENP-A(Cnp1) at specific loci, including subtelomeric regions, where CENP-A(Cnp1) is preferentially assembled. Moreover, defective Clr6-CII function allows the de novo assembly of CENP-A(Cnp1) chromatin on centromeric DNA, bypassing the normal requirement for heterochromatin. Thus, our analyses show that alterations in the process of chromatin assembly during transcription can destabilize H3 nucleosomes and thereby allow CENP-A(Cnp1) to assemble in its place. We propose that normal centromeres provide a specific chromatin context that limits reassembly of H3 chromatin during transcription and thereby promotes the establishment of CENP-A(Cnp1) chromatin and associated kinetochores. These findings have important implications for genetic and epigenetic processes involved in centromere specification. In total, 24 samples: 22 ChIP DNA files (10 different conditions), 2 Input files.
Project description:Specialized chromatin containing CENP-A nucleosomes instead of H3 nucleosomes is found at all centromeres. However, the mechanisms that specify the locations at which CENP-A chromatin is assembled remain elusive in organisms with regional, epigenetically regulated centromeres. It is known that normal centromeric DNA is transcribed in several systems including the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here, we show that factors which preserve stable histone H3 chromatin during transcription also play a role in preventing promiscuous CENP-A(Cnp1) deposition in fission yeast. Mutations in the histone chaperone FACT impair the maintenance of H3 chromatin on transcribed regions and promote widespread CENP-A(Cnp1) incorporation at non-centromeric sites. FACT has little or no effect on CENP-A(Cnp1) assembly at endogenous centromeres where CENP-A(Cnp1) is normally assembled. In contrast, Clr6 complex II (Clr6-CII; equivalent to Rpd3S) histone deacetylase function has a more subtle impact on the stability of transcribed H3 chromatin and acts to prevent the ectopic accumulation of CENP-A(Cnp1) at specific loci, including subtelomeric regions, where CENP-A(Cnp1) is preferentially assembled. Moreover, defective Clr6-CII function allows the de novo assembly of CENP-A(Cnp1) chromatin on centromeric DNA, bypassing the normal requirement for heterochromatin. Thus, our analyses show that alterations in the process of chromatin assembly during transcription can destabilize H3 nucleosomes and thereby allow CENP-A(Cnp1) to assemble in its place. We propose that normal centromeres provide a specific chromatin context that limits reassembly of H3 chromatin during transcription and thereby promotes the establishment of CENP-A(Cnp1) chromatin and associated kinetochores. These findings have important implications for genetic and epigenetic processes involved in centromere specification.
Project description:The histone H3 variant, CENP-ACnp1, is normally assembled upon canonical centromeric sequences, but there is no apparent obligate coupling of sequence and assembly, suggesting that centromere location can be epigenetically determined. To explore the tolerances and constraints on CENP-ACnp1 deposition we investigated whether certain locations are favoured when additional CENP-ACnp1 is present in fission yeast cells. Our analyses show that additional CENP-ACnp1 accumulates within and close to heterochromatic centromeric outer repeats, and over regions adjacent to rDNA and telomeres. The use of minichromosome derivatives with unique DNA sequences internal to chromosome ends shows that telomeres are sufficient to direct CENP-ACnp1 deposition. However, chromosome ends are not required as CENP-ACnp1 deposition also occurs at telomere repeats inserted at an internal locus and correlates with the presence of H3K9 methylation near these repeats. The Ccq1 protein, which is known to bind telomere repeats and recruit telomerase, was found to be required to induce H3K9 methylation and thus promote the incorporation of CENP-A near telomere repeats. These analyses demonstrate that at non-centromeric chromosomal locations the presence of heterochromatin influences the sites at which CENP-A is incorporated into chromatin and thus, potentially the location of centromeres. For CENP-A/Cnp1 chromatin immunoprecipitation: DNA immunoprecipitated with anti-Cnp1 serum using chromatin extracts from mutants and wild type control cells in biological duplicates normalized to input DNA from each strain.
Project description:We use high-resolution chemical cleavage mapping and both native and cross-linked chromatin immunoprecipitation with paired-end sequencing to elucidate the profile of nuceleosomes containing the centromere-specific variant of H3 (cenH3), known as CENP-A or Cnp1 in fission yeast. We find that in the central domain of fission yeast centromeres H3 nucleosomes are nearly absent and CENP-A nucleosomes are more widely spaced that nucleosomes elsewere. CENP-A (Cnp1), CENP-C (Cnp3), CENP-T (Cnp20) and CENP-I (Mis6) are highly enriched at every position in the central domain except at tRNA genes, with weak enrichment in the flanking heterochromatin where these proteins show no evidence of the positioning that has been seen in point centromeres and in the satellite-rich centromeres of plants and animals. Our findings suggest that classical regional centromeres are distinguished from other centromere classes by the absence of cenH3 nucleosome positioning.
Project description:Centromeres are maintained epigenetically by the presence of CENP-A, an evolutionarily-conserved histone H3 variant, which directs kinetochore assembly and hence, centromere function. To identify factors that promote assembly of CENP-A chromatin, we affinity selected solubilised fission yeast CENP-ACnp1 chromatin. All subunits of the Ino80 complex were enriched, including the auxiliary subunit Hap2. In addition to a role in maintenance of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin integrity at endogenous centromeres, Hap2 is required for de novo assembly of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin on naïve centromere DNA and promotes H3 turnover on centromere regions and other loci prone to CENP-ACnp1 deposition. Prior to CENP-ACnp1 chromatin assembly, Hap2 is required for transcription from centromere DNA. These analyses suggest that Hap2-Ino80 destabilises H3 nucleosomes on centromere DNA through transcription-mediated histone H3 turnover, driving the replacement of resident H3 nucleosomes with CENP-ACnp1 nucleosomes. These inherent properties define centromere DNA by directing a program that mediates CENP-ACnp1 assembly on appropriate sequences.
Project description:The centromeric histone H3 variant CENP-A is overexpressed in many cancers. The mislocalization of CENP-A to noncentromeric regions contributes to chromosomal instability (CIN), a hallmark of cancer. However, pathways that promote or prevent CENP-A mislocalization remain poorly defined. Here, we performed a genome-wide RNAi screen for regulators of CENP-A localization which identified DNAJC9, a J-domain protein implicated in histone H3–H4 protein folding, as a factor restricting CENP-A mislocalization. Cells lacking DNAJC9 exhibit mislocalization of CENP-A throughout the genome, and CIN phenotypes. Global interactome analysis showed that DNAJC9 depletion promotes the interaction of CENP-A with the DNA-replication-associated histone chaperone MCM2. CENP-A mislocalization upon DNAJC9 depletion was dependent on MCM2, defining MCM2 as a driver of CENP-A deposition at ectopic sites when H3–H4 supply chains are disrupted. Cells depleted for histone H3.3, also exhibit CENP-A mislocalization. In summary, we have defined novel factors that prevent mislocalization of CENP-A, and demonstrated that the integrity of H3–H4 supply chains regulated by histone chaperones such as DNAJC9 restrict CENP-A mislocalization and CIN.
Project description:We report the high-throughput profiling of histone variant CNEP-A/Cnp1 in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. By obtaining 1-10 ng immunoprecipitated DNA, we generated genome-wide CENP-A/Cnp1 maps of the wild type meiotic haploid progeny of heterozygous deletion diploid wip1∆/+, mhf1∆/+ and mhf2∆/+ and CENP-A/Cnp1 maps of mhf2+ carrying the inactivated Centromere 1 or Centromere 2. We find that CENP-A/Cnp1 spreading into the pericentromeric regions in wild type meiotic progeny of heterozygous deletion diploid wip1∆/+, mhf1∆/+ and mhf2∆/+.
Project description:We employ the well-studied fission yeast centromere to investigate the function of the CENP-A (Cnp1) N-tail. We show that alteration of the N-tail did not affect Cnp1 loading at centromeres, outer kinetochore formation, or spindle checkpoint signaling, but nevertheless elevated chromosome loss. N-Tail mutants exhibited synthetic lethality with an altered centromeric DNA sequence, with rare survivors harboring chromosomal fusions in which the altered centromere was epigenetically inactivated. Elevated centromere inactivation was also observed for N-tail mutants with unaltered centromeric DNA sequences. N-tail mutants specifically reduced localization of the CCAN proteins Cnp20/CENP-T and Mis6/CENP-I, but not Cnp3/CENP-C. Overexpression of Cnp20/CENP-T suppressed defects in an N-tail mutant, suggesting a causal link between reduced CENP-T recruitment and the observed centromere inactivation phenotype. Thus, the Cnp1 N-tail promotes epigenetic stability of centromeres via recruitment of the CENP-T branch of the CCAN. Genome-wide localization of GFP-tagged N-tail Cnp1 variant tailswap versus wt control in cnp1 deletion background