Project description:Enhancer loci identified by ChIP-Seq or other experimental methods occupy hundreds of base pairs on the genome. It is the paradox comparing with the motif analysis, which usually contains only a few or tens nucleotides, achieved by bioinformatics analysis. To address this issue, we develop an experimental method, termed as massive active enhancer sequencing (MAE-Seq), to designate active enhancer sequences from arbitrary sources of 25bp random DNA libraries. These sequences are constructed in a mini-promoter vector with fluorescent reporter. After transfection, positive cells are sorted out and for sequencing. With the results, we successfully identify hundreds known accurate active enhancer sequences as expected. Besides that, large amounts of unmarked regulatory elements (UREs) that might control gene expression without epigenetic features are also been spotted. In conclusion, MAE-Seq would be useful to refine enhancer sequences and precisely annotate the genome in eukaryotes.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Enhancers are DNA regulatory elements that influence gene expression. There is substantial diversity in enhancers' activity patterns: some enhancers drive expression in a single cellular context, while others are active across many. Sequence characteristics, such as transcription factor (TF) binding motifs, influence the activity patterns of regulatory sequences; however, the regulatory logic through which specific sequences drive enhancer activity patterns is poorly understood. Recent analysis of Drosophila enhancers suggested that short dinucleotide repeat motifs (DRMs) are general enhancer sequence features that drive broad regulatory activity. However, it is not known whether the regulatory role of DRMs is conserved across species. RESULTS:We performed a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between short DNA sequence patterns, including DRMs, and human enhancer activity in 38,538 enhancers across 411 different contexts. In a machine-learning framework, the occurrence patterns of short sequence motifs accurately predicted broadly active human enhancers. However, DRMs alone were weakly predictive of broad enhancer activity in humans and showed different enrichment patterns than in Drosophila. In general, GC-rich sequence motifs were significantly associated with broad enhancer activity, and consistent with this enrichment, broadly active human TFs recognize GC-rich motifs. CONCLUSIONS:Our results reveal the importance of specific sequence motifs in broadly active human enhancers, demonstrate the lack of evolutionary conservation of the role of DRMs, and provide a computational framework for investigating the logic of enhancer sequences.
Project description:The budding yeast genome is marked by 250-350 origins of DNA replication. These origins are bound by the origin recognition complex (ORC) throughout the cell cycle. ORC has known DNA binding sequence preferences which, though necessary for binding, are not sufficient to fully specify a genomic locus as being bound by ORC, indicating that the cell must use additional chromosomal cues to specify ORC binding sites and origins of replication. Using high-throughput sequencing to precisely locate both ORC binding sites and nucleosome locations genome-wide, we find that a nucleosome depleted region (NDR) and precisely positioned nucleosomes are a ubiquitous feature of yeast replication origins. The ARS consensus sequence (ACS) and adjacent sequences are sufficient to maintain the nucleosome-free properties of the NDR. We use a temperature sensitive ORC1 mutant to demonstrate that ORC is required to maintain precisely positioned nucleosomes at origins of replication. These findings demonstrate the importance of local nucleosome positioning at replication origins, and that chromatin organization is an important determinant of origin selection. Examination of nucleosome positioning in wild-type and orc1-161ts mutant S. cerevisiae at room temperature and heatshock temperatures. Examination of ORC binding locations by ChIP-seq. All reported coordinates are based on the SGD genome build released 12/16/2005.
Project description:The budding yeast genome is marked by 250-350 origins of DNA replication. These origins are bound by the origin recognition complex (ORC) throughout the cell cycle. ORC has known DNA binding sequence preferences which, though necessary for binding, are not sufficient to fully specify a genomic locus as being bound by ORC, indicating that the cell must use additional chromosomal cues to specify ORC binding sites and origins of replication. Using high-throughput sequencing to precisely locate both ORC binding sites and nucleosome locations genome-wide, we find that a nucleosome depleted region (NDR) and precisely positioned nucleosomes are a ubiquitous feature of yeast replication origins. The ARS consensus sequence (ACS) and adjacent sequences are sufficient to maintain the nucleosome-free properties of the NDR. We use a temperature sensitive ORC1 mutant to demonstrate that ORC is required to maintain precisely positioned nucleosomes at origins of replication. These findings demonstrate the importance of local nucleosome positioning at replication origins, and that chromatin organization is an important determinant of origin selection.
Project description:Background: The expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is primarily regulated during their transcription. However, the transcriptional regulation of miRNA genes has not been studied extensively owing to the lack of sufficient information about the promoters and transcription start sites of most miRNAs. Results: In this study, we identified the transcription start sites of human primary miRNAs (pri-miRNAs) using DROSHA knockout cells. DROSHA knockout resulted in increased accumulation of pri-miRNAs and facilitated the precise mapping of their 5′ end nucleotides using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. By analyzing the promoter region encompassing the transcription start sites of miRNAs, we found that the unrelated miRNAs in their sequences have many common elements in their promoters for binding the same transcription factors. Moreover, by analyzing intronic miRNAs, we also obtained comprehensive evidence that miRNA-harboring introns are spliced more slowly than other introns. Conclusions: The precisely mapped transcription start sites of pri-miRNAs, and the list of transcription factors for pri-miRNAs regulation, will be valuable resources for future studies to understand the regulatory network of miRNAs.
Project description:N6-methyldeoxyadenosine (6mA or m6A) is a DNA modification preserved in prokaryotes to eukaryotes. It is widespread in bacteria, and functions in DNA mismatch repair, chromosome segregation, and virulence regulation. In contrast, the distribution and function of 6mA in eukaryotes have been unclear. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the 6mA landscape in the genome of Chlamydomonas using new sequencing approaches. We identified the 6mA modification in 84% of genes in Chlamydomonas. We found that 6mA mainly locates at ApT dinucleotides around transcription start sites (TSS) with a bimodal distribution, and appears to mark active genes. A periodic pattern of 6mA deposition was also observed at base resolution, which is associated with nucleosome distribution near the TSS, suggesting a possible role in nucleosome positioning. The new genome-wide mapping of 6mA and its unique distribution in the Chlamydomonas genome suggest potential regulatory roles of 6mA in gene expression in eukaryotic organisms.