scholarly journals Heterochromatin assembly by interrupted Sir3 bridges across neighboring nucleosomes

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Behrouzi ◽  
Chenning Lu ◽  
Mark A Currie ◽  
Gloria Jih ◽  
Nahid Iglesias ◽  
...  

Heterochromatin is a conserved feature of eukaryotic chromosomes with central roles in regulation of gene expression and maintenance of genome stability. Heterochromatin formation involves spreading of chromatin-modifying factors away from initiation points over large DNA domains by poorly understood mechanisms. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, heterochromatin formation requires the SIR complex, which contains subunits with histone-modifying, histone-binding, and self-association activities. Here, we analyze binding of the Sir proteins to reconstituted mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-nucleosomal chromatin templates and show that key Sir-Sir interactions bridge only sites on different nucleosomes but not sites on the same nucleosome, and are therefore 'interrupted' with respect to sites on the same nucleosome. We observe maximal binding affinity and cooperativity to unmodified di-nucleosomes and propose that nucleosome pairs bearing unmodified histone H4-lysine16 and H3-lysine79 form the fundamental units of Sir chromatin binding and that cooperative binding requiring two appropriately modified nucleosomes mediates selective Sir recruitment and spreading.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagmohan Singh ◽  
Jyotsna Kumar ◽  
Swati Haldar ◽  
Neelima Gupta ◽  
Viney Kumar ◽  
...  

Abstract Heterochromatin formation in fission yeast and metazoans involves di/trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 position (me2/me3-K9-H3) by the histone methyltransferase (HMT) Suv39/Clr4, followed by binding of Swi6/HP1 to me2/me3-K9-H3 via its chromodomain1. Subsequent self-association of Swi6/HP1 on adjacent nucleosomes leads to folded heterochromatin structure1-3. An alternate model suggests a concerted participation of Clr4 and Swi6/HP12,3. HP1 binding to RNA has been invoked for heterochromatin silencing in metazoans4,5. Swi6/HP1 also binds and channels RNA to exosome pathway in fission yeast6. Recruitment of Swi6/HP1 to centromere is also dependent on the RNAi pathway7. Here we show that Swi6/HP1 exhibits binding to RNAs, ranging from promiscuous, low-affinity binding to mRNAs, to moderate-affinity binding to the RNAi-generated siRNAs corresponding to the repeats present in heterochromatin regions7, to high affinity binding to the RNA-DNA hybrids cognate to the repeats. Together with sensitivity of Swi6 localization and silencing to RNaseH, our results suggest a dynamic distribution of Swi6/HP1 among the heterochromatin and euchromatic transcripts and binding to RNA-DNA hybrid as an RNAi-dependent and Me2/me3-K9-H3-independent mechanism of recruitment, leading to heterochromatin formation and silencing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (49) ◽  
pp. 12447-12452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah G. Swygert ◽  
Subhadip Senapati ◽  
Mehmet F. Bolukbasi ◽  
Scot A. Wolfe ◽  
Stuart Lindsay ◽  
...  

Heterochromatin is a silenced chromatin region essential for maintaining genomic stability and driving developmental processes. The complicated structure and dynamics of heterochromatin have rendered it difficult to characterize. In budding yeast, heterochromatin assembly requires the SIR proteins—Sir3, believed to be the primary structural component of SIR heterochromatin, and the Sir2–4 complex, responsible for the targeted recruitment of SIR proteins and the deacetylation of lysine 16 of histone H4. Previously, we found that Sir3 binds but does not compact nucleosomal arrays. Here we reconstitute chromatin fibers with the complete complement of SIR proteins and use sedimentation velocity, molecular modeling, and atomic force microscopy to characterize the stoichiometry and conformation of SIR chromatin fibers. In contrast to fibers with Sir3 alone, our results demonstrate that SIR arrays are highly compact. Strikingly, the condensed structure of SIR heterochromatin fibers requires both the integrity of H4K16 and an interaction between Sir3 and Sir4. We propose a model in which a dimer of Sir3 bridges and stabilizes two adjacent nucleosomes, while a Sir2–4 heterotetramer interacts with Sir3 associated with a nucleosomal trimer, driving fiber compaction.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah G. Swygert ◽  
Subhadip Senapati ◽  
Mehmet F. Bolukbasi ◽  
Scot A. Wolfe ◽  
Stuart Lindsay ◽  
...  

SummaryHeterochromatin is a silenced chromatin region essential for maintaining genomic stability and driving developmental processes. The complicated structure and dynamics of heterochromatin have rendered it difficult to characterize. In budding yeast, heterochromatin assembly requires the SIR proteins -- Sir3, believed to be the primary structural component of SIR heterochromatin, and the Sir2/4 complex, responsible for the targeted recruitment of SIR proteins and the deacetylation of lysine 16 of histone H4. Previously, we found that Sir3 binds but does not compact nucleosomal arrays. Here we reconstitute chromatin fibers with the complete complement of SIR proteins and use sedimentation velocity, molecular modeling, and atomic force microscopy to characterize the stoichiometry and conformation of SIR chromatin fibers. In contrast to previous studies, our results demonstrate that SIR arrays are highly compact. Strikingly, the condensed structure of SIR heterochromatin fibers requires both the integrity of H4K16 and an interaction between Sir3 and Sir4. We propose a model in which two molecules of Sir3 bridge and stabilize two adjacent nucleosomes, while a single Sir2/4 heterodimer binds the intervening linker DNA, driving fiber compaction.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayuri Rege ◽  
Jessica L. Feldman ◽  
Nicholas L. Adkins ◽  
Craig L. Peterson

ABSTRACTHeterochromatin is a repressive, specialized chromatin structure that is central to eukaryotic transcriptional regulation and genome stability. In the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, heterochromatin formation requires Sir2p, Sir3p, and Sir4p, and these Sir proteins create specialized chromatin structures at telomeres and silent mating type loci. Previously, we reported that the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzyme can evict Sir3 from chromatin fibers in vitro, though whether this activity contributes to the role of SWI/SNF as a transcriptional activator at euchromatic loci is unknown. Here, we characterize genetic interactions between the SIR genes (SIR2, SIR3, and SIR4) and genes encoding subunits of the chromatin remodelers SWI/SNF and INO80C, as well genes encoding the histone deacetylases Hst3 and Hst4. We find that loss of SIR genes partially rescues the growth defects of swi2, ino80, and hst3/hst4 mutants during replication stress conditions. Interestingly, partial suppression of swi2, ino80, and hst3 hst4 mutant phenotypes is due to the pseudo-diploid state of sir mutants, but a significant portion is due to more direct functional interactions. Consistent with this view, transcriptional profiling of strains lacking Swi2 or Sir3 identifies a set of genes whose expression in the M/G1 phase of the cell cycle requires SWI/SNF to antagonize the repressive impact of Sir3.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyotsna Kumar ◽  
Swati Haldar ◽  
Neelima Gupta ◽  
Viney Kumar ◽  
Manisha Thakur ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCanonically, heterochromatin formation in fission yeast and metazoans involves di/trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 position (me2/me3-K9-H3) by the histone methyltransferase (HMT) Suv39/Clr4, followed by binding of Swi6/HP1 to me2/me3-K9-H3 via its chromodomain. Subsequent self-association of Swi6/HP1 on adjacent nucleosomes leads to folded heterochromatin structure. An alternate model suggests a cooperative interaction between Clr4 and Swi6/HP1 in heterochromatin assembly. HP1 binding to RNA has also been invoked for heterochromatin silencing in metazoans. Recruitment of Swi6/HP1 to centromere has been shown to be dependent on the RNAi pathway in fission yeast. Here we show that Swi6/HP1 exhibits a hierarchy of binding affinity to RNAs, ranging from promiscuous, low-affinity binding to mRNAs, to moderate-affinity binding to the RNAi-generated siRNAs corresponding to the dg-dh repeats present in pericentromeric heterochromatin regions, to high affinity binding to the RNA-DNA hybrids to the cognate dg-dh repeats. Together with sensitivity of Swi6 localization and silencing to RNaseH, our results suggest a dynamic control of localization of Swi6/HP1 towards the dg-dh repeats versus euchromatic regions. This is mediated by its binding to RNA-DNA hybrid at the dg-dh repeats, as an RNAi-dependent and Me2/me3-K9-H3-independent mechanism of recruitment, leading to heterochromatin formation and silencing.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jahan-Yar Parsa ◽  
Selim Boudoukha ◽  
Jordan Burke ◽  
Christina Homer ◽  
Hiten D. Madhani

Packaging of pericentromeric DNA into heterochromatin is crucial for genome stability, development and health, yet its endogenous triggers remain poorly understood1. A defining feature of pericentromeric heterochromatin is histone H3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me)2–4. In S. pombe, transcripts derived from the pericentromeric dg and dh repeat during S phase5–7 promote heterochromatin formation through two pathways: an RNAi-dependent mechanism involving recruitment of the Clr4 H3K9 methyltransferase complex (CLR-C) via the RITS complex8–13, and RNAi-independent mechanism involving an RNAPII-associated RNA-binding protein Seb1, the repressor complex SHREC, and RNA processing activities14–19. We show here that Seb1 promotes long-lived RNAPII pausing. Pause sites associated with sequence-specific Seb1 RNA binding events are significantly enriched in pericentromeric repeat regions and their presence correlates with the heterochromatin-triggering activities of the corresponding dg and dh DNA fragments. Remarkably, globally increasing RNAPII stalling by other means induces the formation of novel large ectopic heterochromatin domains. Such ectopic heterochromatin occurs even in cells lacking functional RITS, demonstrating that RNAPII pausing can be sufficient to trigger de novo heterochromatin independently of RNAi. These results uncover Seb1-mediated polymerase stalling as a new signal for nucleating heterochromatin assembly in repetitive DNA.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1098-1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Papait ◽  
Christian Pistore ◽  
Diego Negri ◽  
Daniela Pecoraro ◽  
Lisa Cantarini ◽  
...  

Heterochromatin plays an important role in transcriptional repression, for the correct segregation of chromosomes and in the maintenance of genome stability. Pericentric heterochromatin (PH) replication and formation have been proposed to occur in the pericentric heterochromatin duplication body (pHDB). A central question is how the underacetylated state of heterochromatic histone H4 tail is established and controlled, because it is a key event during PH replication and is essential to maintain the compacted and silenced state of these regions. Np95 is a cell cycle regulated and is a nuclear histone-binding protein that also recruits HDAC-1 to target promoters. It is essential for S phase and for embryonic formation and is implicated in chromosome stability. Here we show that Np95 is part of the pHDB, and its functional ablation causes a strong reduction in PH replication. Depletion of Np95 also causes a hyperacetylation of lysines 8, 12, and 16 of heterochromatin histone H4 and an increase of pericentromeric major satellite transcription, whose RNAs are key players for heterochromatin formation. We propose that Np95 is a new relevant protein involved in heterochromatin replication and formation.


Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyoju Ban ◽  
Wenqi Sun ◽  
Yu-hang Chen ◽  
Yong Chen ◽  
Fei Li

Abstract Heterochromatin, a transcriptionally silenced chromatin domain, is important for genome stability and gene expression. Histone 3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me) and histone hypoacetylation are conserved epigenetic hallmarks of heterochromatin. In fission yeast, RNA interference (RNAi) plays a key role in H3K9 methylation and heterochromatin silencing. However, how RNAi machinery and histone deacetylases (HDACs) are coordinated to ensure proper heterochromatin assembly is still unclear. Previously, we showed that Dpb4, a conserved DNA polymerase epsilon subunit, plays a key role in the recruitment of HDACs to heterochromatin during S phase. Here, we identified a novel RNA-binding protein Dri1 that interacts with Dpb4. GFP-tagged Dri1 forms distinct foci mostly in the nucleus, showing a high degree of colocalization with Swi6/Heterochromatin Protein 1. Deletion of dri1+ leads to defects in silencing, H3K9me, and heterochromatic siRNA generation. We also showed that Dri1 physically associates with heterochromatic transcripts, and is required for the recruitment of the RNA-induced transcriptional silencing (RITS) complex via interacting with the complex. Furthermore, loss of Dri1 decreases the association of the Sir2 HDAC with heterochromatin. We further demonstrated that the C-terminus of Dri1 that includes an intrinsically disordered (IDR) region and three zinc fingers is crucial for its role in silencing. Together, our evidences suggest that Dri1 facilitates heterochromatin assembly via the RNAi pathway and HDAC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ching Teng ◽  
Aishwarya Sundaresan ◽  
Ryan O’Hara ◽  
Vincent U. Gant ◽  
Minhua Li ◽  
...  

AbstractATRX is a tumor suppressor that has been associated with protection from DNA replication stress, purportedly through resolution of difficult-to-replicate G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures. While several studies demonstrate that loss of ATRX sensitizes cells to chemical stabilizers of G4 structures, the molecular function of ATRX at G4 regions during replication remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that ATRX associates with a number of the MCM replication complex subunits and that loss of ATRX leads to G4 structure accumulation at newly synthesized DNA. We show that both the helicase domain of ATRX and its H3.3 chaperone function are required to protect cells from G4-induced replicative stress. Furthermore, these activities are upstream of heterochromatin formation mediated by the histone methyltransferase, ESET, which is the critical molecular event that protects cells from G4-mediated stress. In support, tumors carrying mutations in either ATRX or ESET show increased mutation burden at G4-enriched DNA sequences. Overall, our study provides new insights into mechanisms by which ATRX promotes genome stability with important implications for understanding impacts of its loss on human disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola P. Montaldo ◽  
Diana L. Bordin ◽  
Alessandro Brambilla ◽  
Marcel Rösinger ◽  
Sarah L. Fordyce Martin ◽  
...  

AbstractBase excision repair (BER) initiated by alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) is essential for removal of aberrantly methylated DNA bases. Genome instability and accumulation of aberrant bases accompany multiple diseases, including cancer and neurological disorders. While BER is well studied on naked DNA, it remains unclear how BER efficiently operates on chromatin. Here, we show that AAG binds to chromatin and forms complex with RNA polymerase (pol) II. This occurs through direct interaction with Elongator and results in transcriptional co-regulation. Importantly, at co-regulated genes, aberrantly methylated bases accumulate towards the 3′end in regions enriched for BER enzymes AAG and APE1, Elongator and active RNA pol II. Active transcription and functional Elongator are further crucial to ensure efficient BER, by promoting AAG and APE1 chromatin recruitment. Our findings provide insights into genome stability maintenance in actively transcribing chromatin and reveal roles of aberrantly methylated bases in regulation of gene expression.


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