Project description:At every cell cycle, faithful inheritance of metazoan genomes requires the concerted activation of thousands of DNA replication origins. However, which genetic and chromatin features define metazoan replication start sites remains largely unknown. Here, we delineate the origin repertoire of the Drosophila genome at high resolution. We address the role of origin-proximal G-quadruplexes and show their ability to transiently stall replication forks in vivo. We dissect the chromatin configuration of replication origins and identify a rich spatial organization of chromatin features at initiation sites. DNA shape and chromatin configurations, not strict sequence specificity, mark and predict replication origins in higher eukaryotes. We further examine the link between transcription and origin firing and reveal that modulation of origin activity across cell types is intimately linked to cell-type-specific transcriptional programs. Our study unravels conserved origin features and provides unique insights into the relationship between DNA topology, chromatin, transcription and replication initiation across metazoa. Our dataset consists of SNS-Seq profiles in Drosophila S2 and Bg3 cells. Small nascent leading strands (SNS) have been purified with an enhanced sensitivity SNS purification protocol. For standard SNS-Seq experiments (from pooled gradient fractions, denoted as "pool"), SNS were purified from two biological replicates. For single-fraction SNS-Seq experiments, two libraries were prepared for each fraction. The genomic coordinates of S2 and Bg3 replication origins are also provided.
Project description:Because of the lack of information, regulation of DNA replication initiation in mammals is still poorly understood. In order to identify general rules, we have mapped replication origins along 1% of the human genome in HeLa cells. We found large gene-poor regions lacking origin and G+C rich regions containing clusters of closely spaced origins. Half of the 283 origins mapped are within or near CpG islands. The connection with gene expression is further reinforced by the observation that most origins overlap with DNAseI hypersensitive sites found at transcriptional regulatory elements. We show, however, that this association is independent of chromatin structure and transcriptional activity. Replication timing analyses coupled to our origin mapping demonstrate that origin dense regions and isolated origins are replicated at every moment in S phase. All together, our data suggest that a relatively strict origin-timing programme regulates DNA replication of the human genome. Keywords: Nascent strands, ENCODE project, HeLAS3 cells, SNS-Chip Four independent preparations of Short Nascent Strands (SNS) were performed. In order to have enough material for microarray hybridisation, we coupled the stringent preparation of SNS with the TLAD method, a technique of linear amplification that can generate several µg of amplified material from 10-20 ng of DNA (Liu et al., 2003).Two were amplified by TLAD (experiments A and B) and hybridized on DNA microarrays, and the other two (experiments C and D) were used for the validation by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) of results obtained on micro-arrays. We performed also a gDNA/gDNA hybridization where gDNA are also amplified by TLAD to order to do a control.
Project description:The 3-dimensional (3D) conformation of chromatin inside the nucleus is integral to a variety of nuclear processes including transcriptional regulation, DNA replication, and DNA damage repair. Aberrations in 3D chromatin conformation have been implicated in developmental abnormalities and cancer. Despite the importance of 3D chromatin conformation to cellular function and human health, little is known about how 3D chromatin conformation varies in the human population, or whether DNA sequence variation between individuals influences 3D chromatin conformation. To address these questions, we performed Hi-C on Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines (LCLs) from a panel of 20 individuals. We identify thousands of regions across the genome where 3D chromatin conformation varies between individuals and find that these conformational variations are often accompanied by variations in gene expression, histone modifications, and transcription factor (TF) binding. Moreover, we find that DNA sequence variation influences several features of 3D chromatin conformation including loop strength, contact insulation, contact directionality and density of local cis contacts. We map hundreds of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) associated with 3D chromatin features and find evidence that some of these same variants are associated at modest levels with other molecular phenotypes as well as complex disease risk. Our results demonstrate that common DNA sequence variants can influence 3D chromatin conformation, pointing to a more pervasive role for 3D chromatin conformation in human phenotypic variation than previously recognized.
Project description:Linker histones are highly abundant chromatin-associated proteins with well-established structural roles in chromatin and as general transcriptional repressors. In addition, it has been long proposed that histone H1 exerts context-specific effects on gene expression. Here, we have identified a new function of histone H1 in chromatin structure and transcription using a range of genomic approaches. We show that histone H1-depleted cells accumulate nascent non-coding RNAs on chromatin, suggesting that histone H1 prevents non-coding RNA transcription and regulates non-coding transcript turnover on chromatin. Accumulated non-coding transcripts have reduced levels of m6A modification causing replication-transcription conflicts. Accordingly, altering the m6A RNA methylation pathway rescues the replicative phenotype of H1 loss. This work unveils unexpected regulatory roles of histone H1 on non-coding RNA turnover and m6A deposition, highlighting the intimate relationship between chromatin conformation, RNA metabolism and DNA replication to maintain genome performance.
Project description:We describe how the cancer-causing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a prototypic herpesvirus, alters proteome at viral replication forks prominently identifies chromatin modifying and transcriptional repression proteins. Specifically, to transition from transcription, the viral DNA polymerase processivity factor EA-D is SUMOylated by the transcriptional corepressor KAP1-TRIM28. KAP1 function is triggered by phosphorylation via the PI3K-related kinase ATM and the helicase RECQ5 at the transcription machinery. SUMO-EA-D recruits the histone loader CAF1 and the methyltransferase SETDB1 to silence the parental genome, prioritizing replication. Thus, DNA repair, epigenetic, and transcription-replication interference pathways orchestrate the handover from transcription to replication, a fundamental feature of DNA viruses
Project description:ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes have been shown to participate in DNA replication in addition to transcription and DNA repair. However, the mechanisms of their involvement in DNA replication remain unclear. Here, we reveal a specific function of the yeast INO80 chromatin remodeling complex in the DNA damage tolerance pathways. Whereas INO80 is necessary for the resumption of replication at forks stalled by methyl methane sulfonate (MMS), it is not required for replication fork collapse after treatment with hydroxyurea (HU). Mechanistically, INO80 regulates DNA damage tolerance during replication through modulation of PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) ubiquitination and Rad51-mediated processing of recombination intermediates at impeded replication forks. Our findings establish a mechanistic link between INO80 and DNA damage tolerance pathways, indicating that chromatin remodeling is important for accurate DNA replication. INO80 distribution in WT cells was measured.
Project description:The INO80 complex is a chromatin remodeler that regulates DNA replication, repair, and transcription. Although the INO80 complex plays a crucial role in various chromatin-associated processes, the mechanism of its recruitment to specific genomic loci is not well understood. Here we used a native ChIP-MS approach to quantitatively profile modifications present on nucleosomes co-purified with INO80 from MNAse-digested HeLa chromatin.