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Jash E, Azhar AA, Mendoza H, Tan ZM, Escher HN, Kaufman DS, Csankovszki G. XOL-1 regulates developmental timing by modulating the H3K9 landscape in C. elegans early embryos. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011238. [PMID: 39146391 PMCID: PMC11349215 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 08/27/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex determination in the nematode C. elegans is controlled by the master regulator XOL-1 during embryogenesis. Expression of xol-1 is dependent on the ratio of X chromosomes and autosomes, which differs between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. In males, xol-1 is highly expressed and in hermaphrodites, xol-1 is expressed at very low levels. XOL-1 activity is known to be critical for the proper development of C. elegans males, but its low expression was considered to be of minimal importance in the development of hermaphrodite embryos. Our study reveals that XOL-1 plays an important role as a regulator of developmental timing during hermaphrodite embryogenesis. Using a combination of imaging and bioinformatics techniques, we found that hermaphrodite embryos have an accelerated rate of cell division, as well as a more developmentally advanced transcriptional program when xol-1 is lost. Further analyses reveal that XOL-1 is responsible for regulating the timing of initiation of dosage compensation on the X chromosomes, and the appropriate expression of sex-biased transcriptional programs in hermaphrodites. We found that xol-1 mutant embryos overexpress the H3K9 methyltransferase MET-2 and have an altered H3K9me landscape. Some of these effects of the loss of xol-1 gene were reversed by the loss of met-2. These findings demonstrate that XOL-1 plays an important role as a developmental regulator in embryos of both sexes, and that MET-2 acts as a downstream effector of XOL-1 activity in hermaphrodites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eshna Jash
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Anati Alyaa Azhar
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Hector Mendoza
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Zoey M. Tan
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Halle Nicole Escher
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Dalia S. Kaufman
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
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2
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Aharonoff A, Kim J, Washington A, Ercan S. SMC-mediated dosage compensation in C. elegans evolved in the presence of an ancestral nematode mechanism. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.21.595224. [PMID: 38826443 PMCID: PMC11142195 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.21.595224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Mechanisms of X chromosome dosage compensation have been studied extensively in a few model species representing clades of shared sex chromosome ancestry. However, the diversity within each clade as a function of sex chromosome evolution is largely unknown. Here, we anchor ourselves to the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, for which a well-studied mechanism of dosage compensation occurs through a specialized structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complex, and explore the diversity of dosage compensation in the surrounding phylogeny of nematodes. Through phylogenetic analysis of the C. elegans dosage compensation complex and a survey of its epigenetic signatures, including X-specific topologically associating domains (TADs) and X-enrichment of H4K20me1, we found that the condensin-mediated mechanism evolved recently in the lineage leading to Caenorhabditis through an SMC-4 duplication. Intriguingly, an independent duplication of SMC-4 and the presence of X-specific TADs in Pristionchus pacificus suggest that condensin-mediated dosage compensation arose more than once. mRNA-seq analyses of gene expression in several nematode species indicate that dosage compensation itself is ancestral, as expected from the ancient XO sex determination system. Indicative of the ancestral mechanism, H4K20me1 is enriched on the X chromosomes in Oscheius tipulae, which does not contain X-specific TADs or SMC-4 paralogs. Together, our results indicate that the dosage compensation system in C. elegans is surprisingly new, and condensin may have been co-opted repeatedly in nematodes, suggesting that the process of evolving a chromosome-wide gene regulatory mechanism for dosage compensation is constrained. Significance statement X chromosome dosage compensation mechanisms evolved in response to Y chromosome degeneration during sex chromosome evolution. However, establishment of dosage compensation is not an endpoint. As sex chromosomes change, dosage compensation strategies may have also changed. In this study, we performed phylogenetic and epigenomic analyses surrounding Caenorhabditis elegans and found that the condensin-mediated dosage compensation mechanism in C. elegans is surprisingly new, and has evolved in the presence of an ancestral mechanism. Intriguingly, condensin-based dosage compensation may have evolved more than once in the nematode lineage, the other time in Pristionchus. Together, our work highlights a previously unappreciated diversity of dosage compensation mechanisms within a clade, and suggests constraints in evolving new mechanisms in the presence of an existing one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avrami Aharonoff
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Jun Kim
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Aaliyah Washington
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Sevinç Ercan
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
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3
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Abstract
Many cellular processes require large-scale rearrangements of chromatin structure. Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) protein complexes are molecular machines that can provide structure to chromatin. These complexes can connect DNA elements in cis, walk along DNA, build and processively enlarge DNA loops and connect DNA molecules in trans to hold together the sister chromatids. These DNA-shaping abilities place SMC complexes at the heart of many DNA-based processes, including chromosome segregation in mitosis, transcription control and DNA replication, repair and recombination. In this Review, we discuss the latest insights into how SMC complexes such as cohesin, condensin and the SMC5-SMC6 complex shape DNA to direct these fundamental chromosomal processes. We also consider how SMC complexes, by building chromatin loops, can counteract the natural tendency of alike chromatin regions to cluster. SMC complexes thus control nuclear organization by participating in a molecular tug of war that determines the architecture of our genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Hoencamp
- Division of Cell Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Benjamin D Rowland
- Division of Cell Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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4
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Yang Q, Lo TW, Brejc K, Schartner C, Ralston EJ, Lapidus DM, Meyer BJ. X-chromosome target specificity diverged between dosage compensation mechanisms of two closely related Caenorhabditis species. eLife 2023; 12:e85413. [PMID: 36951246 PMCID: PMC10076027 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
An evolutionary perspective enhances our understanding of biological mechanisms. Comparison of sex determination and X-chromosome dosage compensation mechanisms between the closely related nematode species Caenorhabditis briggsae (Cbr) and Caenorhabditis elegans (Cel) revealed that the genetic regulatory hierarchy controlling both processes is conserved, but the X-chromosome target specificity and mode of binding for the specialized condensin dosage compensation complex (DCC) controlling X expression have diverged. We identified two motifs within Cbr DCC recruitment sites that are highly enriched on X: 13 bp MEX and 30 bp MEX II. Mutating either MEX or MEX II in an endogenous recruitment site with multiple copies of one or both motifs reduced binding, but only removing all motifs eliminated binding in vivo. Hence, DCC binding to Cbr recruitment sites appears additive. In contrast, DCC binding to Cel recruitment sites is synergistic: mutating even one motif in vivo eliminated binding. Although all X-chromosome motifs share the sequence CAGGG, they have otherwise diverged so that a motif from one species cannot function in the other. Functional divergence was demonstrated in vivo and in vitro. A single nucleotide position in Cbr MEX can determine whether Cel DCC binds. This rapid divergence of DCC target specificity could have been an important factor in establishing reproductive isolation between nematode species and contrasts dramatically with the conservation of target specificity for X-chromosome dosage compensation across Drosophila species and for transcription factors controlling developmental processes such as body-plan specification from fruit flies to mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiming Yang
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Te-Wen Lo
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Katjuša Brejc
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Caitlin Schartner
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Edward J Ralston
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Denise M Lapidus
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBerkeleyUnited States
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
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5
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Combinatorial clustering of distinct DNA motifs directs synergistic binding of Caenorhabditis elegans dosage compensation complex to X chromosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2211642119. [PMID: 36067293 PMCID: PMC9477397 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2211642119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Diverse regulatory mechanisms balance X-chromosome gene expression between sexes in mammals, fruit flies, and nematodes (XY/XO males and XX females/hermaphrodites). We identify DNA motifs on X that recruit dosage compensation complexes (DCCs) in nematode hermaphrodites to reduce X-chromosome expression. Recruitment sites on X, but not regions on autosomes, contain diverse combinations of different motifs or multiple copies of one motif. DCC binding studies in vivo and in vitro of wild-type and mutant X-recruitment sites validate motif usage. We find that clustering of motifs in different combinations with appropriate orientation and spacing promotes synergy in DCC binding, thereby triggering DCC assembly specifically along X. We demonstrate how regulatory complexes can be recruited across an entire chromosome to control its gene expression. Organisms that count X-chromosome number to determine sex utilize dosage compensation mechanisms to balance X-gene expression between sexes. Typically, a regulatory complex is recruited to X chromosomes of one sex to modulate gene expression. A major challenge is to determine the mechanisms that target regulatory complexes specifically to X. Here, we identify critical X-sequence motifs in Caenorhabditis elegans that act synergistically in hermaphrodites to direct X-specific recruitment of the dosage compensation complex (DCC), a condensin complex. We find two DNA motifs that collaborate with a previously defined 12-bp motif called MEX (motif enriched on X) to mediate binding: MEX II, a 26-bp X-enriched motif and Motif C, a 9-bp motif that lacks X enrichment. Inserting both MEX and MEX II into a new location on X creates a DCC binding site equivalent to an endogenous recruitment site, but inserting only MEX or MEX II alone does not. Moreover, mutating MEX, MEX II, or Motif C in endogenous recruitment sites with multiple different motifs dramatically reduces DCC binding in vivo to nearly the same extent as mutating all motifs. Changing the orientation or spacing of motifs also reduces DCC binding. Hence, synergy in DCC binding via combinatorial clustering of motifs triggers DCC assembly specifically on X chromosomes. Using an in vitro DNA binding assay, we refine the features of motifs and flanking sequences that are critical for DCC binding. Our work reveals general principles by which regulatory complexes can be recruited across an entire chromosome to control its gene expression.
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6
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Meyer BJ. The X chromosome in C. elegans sex determination and dosage compensation. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2022; 74:101912. [PMID: 35490475 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2022.101912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abnormalities in chromosome dose can reduce organismal fitness and viability by disrupting the balance of gene expression. Unlike imbalances in chromosome dose that cause pathologies, differences in X-chromosome dose that determine sex are well tolerated. Dosage compensation mechanisms have evolved in diverse species to balance X-chromosome gene expression between sexes. Mechanisms underlying nematode X-chromosome counting to determine sex revealed how small quantitative differences in molecular signals are translated into dramatically different developmental fates. Mechanisms underlying X-chromosome dosage compensation revealed the interplay between chromatin modification and three-dimensional chromosome structure imposed by an X-specific condensin complex to regulate gene expression over vast chromosomal territories. In a surprising twist of evolution, this dosage-compensation condensin complex also regulates lifespan and tolerance to proteotoxic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, 16 Barker Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA.
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7
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Dosage compensation in Bombyx mori is achieved by partial repression of both Z chromosomes in males. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2113374119. [PMID: 35239439 PMCID: PMC8915793 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2113374119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genes on sex chromosomes (i.e. human chX) are regulated differently in males and females to balance gene expression levels between sexes (XY vs. XX). This sex-specific regulation is called dosage compensation (DC). DC is achieved by altering the shape and compaction of sex chromosomes specifically in one sex. In this study, we use Oligopaints to examine DC in silkworms. This study visualizes this phenomenon in a species with ZW sex chromosomes, which evolved independently of XY. Our data support a long-standing model for how DC mechanisms evolved across species, and we show potential similarity between DC in silkworms and nematodes, suggesting that this type of DC may have emerged multiple independent times throughout evolution. Interphase chromatin is organized precisely to facilitate accurate gene expression. The structure–function relationship of chromatin is epitomized in sex chromosome dosage compensation (DC), where sex-linked gene expression is balanced between males and females via sex-specific alterations to three-dimensional chromatin structure. Studies in ZW-bearing species suggest that DC is absent or incomplete in most lineages except butterflies and moths, where male (ZZ) Z chromosome (chZ) expression is reduced by half to equal females (ZW). However, whether one chZ is inactivated (as in mammals) or both are partially repressed (as in Caenorhabditis elegans) is unclear. Using Oligopaints in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, we visualize autosomes and chZ in somatic cells from both sexes. We find that B. mori chromosomes are highly compact relative to Drosophila. We show that in B. mori males, both chZs are similar in size and shape and are more compact than autosomes or the female chZ after DC establishment, suggesting both male chZs are partially and equally downregulated. We also find that in the early stages of DC in females, chZ chromatin becomes more accessible and Z-linked expression increases. Concomitant with these changes, the female chZ repositions toward the nuclear center, revealing nonsequencing-based support for Ohno’s hypothesis. These studies visualizing interphase genome organization and chZ structure in Lepidoptera uncover intriguing similarities between DC in B. mori and C. elegans, despite these lineages harboring evolutionarily distinct sex chromosomes (ZW/XY), suggesting a possible role for holocentricity in DC mechanisms.
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8
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Davis MB, Jash E, Chawla B, Haines RA, Tushman LE, Troll R, Csankovszki G. Dual roles for nuclear RNAi Argonautes in Caenorhabditis elegans dosage compensation. Genetics 2022; 221:6540857. [PMID: 35234908 PMCID: PMC9071528 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyac033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Dosage compensation involves chromosome-wide gene regulatory mechanisms which impact higher order chromatin structure and are crucial for organismal health. Using a genetic approach, we identified Argonaute genes which promote dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Dosage compensation in C. elegans hermaphrodites is initiated by the silencing of xol-1 and subsequent activation of the dosage compensation complex which binds to both hermaphrodite X chromosomes and reduces transcriptional output by half. A hallmark phenotype of dosage compensation mutants is decondensation of the X chromosomes. We characterized this phenotype in Argonaute mutants using X chromosome paint probes and fluorescence microscopy. We found that while nuclear Argonaute mutants hrde-1 and nrde-3, as well as mutants for the piRNA Argonaute prg-1, exhibit derepression of xol-1 transcripts, they also affect X chromosome condensation in a xol-1-independent manner. We also characterized the physiological contribution of Argonaute genes to dosage compensation using genetic assays and found that hrde-1 and nrde-3 contribute to healthy dosage compensation both upstream and downstream of xol-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Davis
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Eshna Jash
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Bahaar Chawla
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Rebecca A Haines
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Lillian E Tushman
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Ryan Troll
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA,Corresponding author: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 N. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1085, USA.
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9
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Meyer BJ. Mechanisms of sex determination and X-chromosome dosage compensation. Genetics 2022; 220:6498458. [PMID: 35100381 PMCID: PMC8825453 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormalities in chromosome number have the potential to disrupt the balance of gene expression and thereby decrease organismal fitness and viability. Such abnormalities occur in most solid tumors and also cause severe developmental defects and spontaneous abortions. In contrast to the imbalances in chromosome dose that cause pathologies, the difference in X-chromosome dose used to determine sexual fate across diverse species is well tolerated. Dosage compensation mechanisms have evolved in such species to balance X-chromosome gene expression between the sexes, allowing them to tolerate the difference in X-chromosome dose. This review analyzes the chromosome counting mechanism that tallies X-chromosome number to determine sex (XO male and XX hermaphrodite) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the associated dosage compensation mechanism that balances X-chromosome gene expression between the sexes. Dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying X-chromosome counting has revealed how small quantitative differences in intracellular signals can be translated into dramatically different fates. Dissecting the process of X-chromosome dosage compensation has revealed the interplay between chromatin modification and chromosome structure in regulating gene expression over vast chromosomal territories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
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10
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Abstract
Nuclei are central hubs for information processing in eukaryotic cells. The need to fit large genomes into small nuclei imposes severe restrictions on genome organization and the mechanisms that drive genome-wide regulatory processes. How a disordered polymer such as chromatin, which has vast heterogeneity in its DNA and histone modification profiles, folds into discernibly consistent patterns is a fundamental question in biology. Outstanding questions include how genomes are spatially and temporally organized to regulate cellular processes with high precision and whether genome organization is causally linked to transcription regulation. The advent of next-generation sequencing, super-resolution imaging, multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization, and single-molecule imaging in individual living cells has caused a resurgence in efforts to understand the spatiotemporal organization of the genome. In this review, we discuss structural and mechanistic properties of genome organization at different length scales and examine changes in higher-order chromatin organization during important developmental transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajarshi P Ghosh
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; ,
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; ,
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11
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Krassovsky K, Ghosh RP, Meyer BJ. Genome-wide profiling reveals functional interplay of DNA sequence composition, transcriptional activity, and nucleosome positioning in driving DNA supercoiling and helix destabilization in C. elegans. Genome Res 2021; 31:1187-1202. [PMID: 34168009 PMCID: PMC8256864 DOI: 10.1101/gr.270082.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
DNA topology and alternative DNA structures are implicated in regulating diverse biological processes. Although biomechanical properties of these structures have been studied extensively in vitro, characterization in vivo, particularly in multicellular organisms, is limited. We devised new methods to map DNA supercoiling and single-stranded DNA in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos and diapause larvae. To map supercoiling, we quantified the incorporation of biotinylated psoralen into DNA using high-throughput sequencing. To map single-stranded DNA, we combined permanganate treatment with genome-wide sequencing of induced double-stranded breaks. We found high levels of negative supercoiling at transcription start sites (TSSs) in embryos. GC-rich regions flanked by a sharp GC-to-AT transition delineate boundaries of supercoil propagation. In contrast to TSSs in embryos, TSSs in diapause larvae showed dramatic reductions in negative supercoiling without concomitant attenuation of transcription, suggesting developmental-stage-specific regulation. To assess whether alternative DNA structures control chromosome architecture and gene expression, we examined DNA supercoiling in the context of X-Chromosome dosage compensation. We showed that the condensin dosage compensation complex creates negative supercoils locally at its highest-occupancy binding sites but found no evidence for large-scale supercoiling domains along X Chromosomes. In contrast to transcription-coupled negative supercoiling, single-strandedness, which is most pronounced at transcript end sites, is dependent on high AT content and symmetrically positioned nucleosomes. We propose that sharp transitions in sequence composition at functional genomic elements constitute a common regulatory code and that DNA structure and propagation of torsional stress at regulatory elements are critical parameters in shaping important developmental events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Krassovsky
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
| | - Rajarshi P Ghosh
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
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12
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Paulson JR, Hudson DF, Cisneros-Soberanis F, Earnshaw WC. Mitotic chromosomes. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 117:7-29. [PMID: 33836947 PMCID: PMC8406421 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Our understanding of the structure and function of mitotic chromosomes has come a long way since these iconic objects were first recognized more than 140 years ago, though many details remain to be elucidated. In this chapter, we start with the early history of chromosome studies and then describe the path that led to our current understanding of the formation and structure of mitotic chromosomes. We also discuss some of the remaining questions. It is now well established that each mitotic chromatid consists of a central organizing region containing a so-called "chromosome scaffold" from which loops of DNA project radially. Only a few key non-histone proteins and protein complexes are required to form the chromosome: topoisomerase IIα, cohesin, condensin I and condensin II, and the chromokinesin KIF4A. These proteins are concentrated along the axis of the chromatid. Condensins I and II are primarily responsible for shaping the chromosome and the scaffold, and they produce the loops of DNA by an ATP-dependent process known as loop extrusion. Modelling of Hi-C data suggests that condensin II adopts a spiral staircase arrangement with an extruded loop extending out from each step in a roughly helical pattern. Condensin I then forms loops nested within these larger condensin II loops, thereby giving rise to the final compaction of the mitotic chromosome in a process that requires Topo IIα.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Paulson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA.
| | - Damien F Hudson
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Fernanda Cisneros-Soberanis
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, ICB, University of Edinburgh, Michael Swann Building, King's Buildings, Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, Scotland, UK
| | - William C Earnshaw
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, ICB, University of Edinburgh, Michael Swann Building, King's Buildings, Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, Scotland, UK.
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13
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Farboud B, Novak CS, Nicoll M, Quiogue A, Meyer BJ. Dose-dependent action of the RNA binding protein FOX-1 to relay X-chromosome number and determine C. elegans sex. eLife 2020; 9:62963. [PMID: 33372658 PMCID: PMC7787662 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We demonstrate how RNA binding protein FOX-1 functions as a dose-dependent X-signal element to communicate X-chromosome number and thereby determine nematode sex. FOX-1, an RNA recognition motif protein, triggers hermaphrodite development in XX embryos by causing non-productive alternative pre-mRNA splicing of xol-1, the master sex-determination switch gene that triggers male development in XO embryos. RNA binding experiments together with genome editing demonstrate that FOX-1 binds to multiple GCAUG and GCACG motifs in a xol-1 intron, causing intron retention or partial exon deletion, thereby eliminating male-determining XOL-1 protein. Transforming all motifs to GCAUG or GCACG permits accurate alternative splicing, demonstrating efficacy of both motifs. Mutating subsets of both motifs partially alleviates non-productive splicing. Mutating all motifs blocks it, as does transforming them to low-affinity GCUUG motifs. Combining multiple high-affinity binding sites with the twofold change in FOX-1 concentration between XX and XO embryos achieves dose-sensitivity in splicing regulation to determine sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behnom Farboud
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Catherine S Novak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Monique Nicoll
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Alyssa Quiogue
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
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A Comprehensive Proteomics Analysis of the JC Virus (JCV) Large and Small Tumor Antigen Interacting Proteins: Large T Primarily Targets the Host Protein Complexes with V-ATPase and Ubiquitin Ligase Activities While Small t Mostly Associates with Those Having Phosphatase and Chromatin-Remodeling Functions. Viruses 2020; 12:v12101192. [PMID: 33092197 PMCID: PMC7594058 DOI: 10.3390/v12101192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The oncogenic potential of both the polyomavirus large (LT-Ag) and small (Sm t-Ag) tumor antigens has been previously demonstrated in both tissue culture and animal models. Even the contribution of the MCPyV tumor antigens to the development of an aggressive human skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, has been recently established. To date, the known primary targets of these tumor antigens include several tumor suppressors such as pRb, p53, and PP2A. However, a comprehensive list of the host proteins targeted by these proteins remains largely unknown. Here, we report the first interactome of JCV LT-Ag and Sm t-Ag by employing two independent “affinity purification/mass spectroscopy” (AP/MS) assays. The proteomics data identified novel targets for both tumor antigens while confirming some of the previously reported interactions. LT-Ag was found to primarily target the protein complexes with ATPase (v-ATPase and Smc5/6 complex), phosphatase (PP4 and PP1), and ligase (E3-ubiquitin) activities. In contrast, the major targets of Sm t-Ag were identified as Smarca1/6, AIFM1, SdhA/B, PP2A, and p53. The interactions between “LT-Ag and SdhB”, “Sm t-Ag and Smarca5”, and “Sm t-Ag and SDH” were further validated by biochemical assays. Interestingly, perturbations in some of the LT-Ag and Sm t-Ag targets identified in this study were previously shown to be associated with oncogenesis, suggesting new roles for both tumor antigens in novel oncogenic pathways. This comprehensive data establishes new foundations to further unravel the new roles for JCV tumor antigens in oncogenesis and the viral life cycle.
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Abstract
Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMCs) are part of a large family of ring complexes that participates in a number of DNA transactions. Among SMCs, SMC1A gene is unique. It encodes a subunit of the cohesin-core complex that tethers sister chromatids together to ensure correct chromosome segregation in both mitosis and meiosis. As a member of the cohesin ring, SMC1A takes part in gene transcription regulation and genome organization; and it participates in the DNA Damage Repair (DDR) pathway, being phosphorylated by Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) and Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3 Related (ATR) threonine/serine kinases. It is also a component of the Recombination protein complex (RC-1) involved in DNA repair by recombination. SMC1A pathogenic variants have been described in Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS), a human rare disease, and recently SMC1A variants have been associated with epilepsy or resembling Rett syndrome phenotype. Finally, SMC1A variants have been identified in several human cancers. In this review, our current knowledge of the SMC1A gene has been summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Musio
- Institute for Genetic and Biomedical Research (IRGB), National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy.
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16
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Anderson EC, Frankino PA, Higuchi-Sanabria R, Yang Q, Bian Q, Podshivalova K, Shin A, Kenyon C, Dillin A, Meyer BJ. X Chromosome Domain Architecture Regulates Caenorhabditis elegans Lifespan but Not Dosage Compensation. Dev Cell 2019; 51:192-207.e6. [PMID: 31495695 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2019.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 06/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Mechanisms establishing higher-order chromosome structures and their roles in gene regulation are elusive. We analyzed chromosome architecture during nematode X chromosome dosage compensation, which represses transcription via a dosage-compensation condensin complex (DCC) that binds hermaphrodite Xs and establishes megabase-sized topologically associating domains (TADs). We show that DCC binding at high-occupancy sites (rex sites) defines eight TAD boundaries. Single rex deletions disrupted boundaries, and single insertions created new boundaries, demonstrating that a rex site is necessary and sufficient to define DCC-dependent boundary locations. Deleting eight rex sites (8rexΔ) recapitulated TAD structure of DCC mutants, permitting analysis when chromosome-wide domain architecture was disrupted but most DCC binding remained. 8rexΔ animals exhibited no changes in X expression and lacked dosage-compensation mutant phenotypes. Hence, TAD boundaries are neither the cause nor the consequence of DCC-mediated gene repression. Abrogating TAD structure did, however, reduce thermotolerance, accelerate aging, and shorten lifespan, implicating chromosome architecture in stress responses and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika C Anderson
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Phillip A Frankino
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ryo Higuchi-Sanabria
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Qiming Yang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Qian Bian
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Aram Shin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Cynthia Kenyon
- Calico Life Sciences, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Andrew Dillin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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17
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Abstract
Smc5 and Smc6, together with the kleisin Nse4, form the heart of the enigmatic and poorly understood Smc5/6 complex, which is frequently viewed as a cousin of cohesin and condensin with functions in DNA repair. As novel functions for cohesin and condensin complexes in the organization of long-range chromatin architecture have recently emerged, new unsuspected roles for Smc5/6 have also surfaced. Here, I aim to provide a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge of the Smc5/6 complex, including its long-established function in genome stability, its multiple roles in DNA repair, and its recently discovered connection to the transcription inhibition of hepatitis B virus genomes. In addition, I summarize new research that is beginning to tease out the molecular details of Smc5/6 structure and function, knowledge that will illuminate the nuclear activities of Smc5/6 in the stability and dynamics of eukaryotic genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Aragón
- Cell Cycle Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom;
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18
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Barbara J. Meyer: 2018 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal. Genetics 2019; 211:1-3. [DOI: 10.1534/genetics.118.301883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The Genetics Society of America’s (GSA) Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal honors researchers for lifetime achievement in genetics. The recipient of the 2018 Morgan Medal, Barbara J. Meyer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of California, Berkeley, is recognized for her career-long, groundbreaking investigations of how chromosome behaviors are controlled. Meyer’s work has revealed mechanisms of sex determination and dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans that continue to serve as the foundation of diverse areas of study on chromosome structure and function today, nearly 40 years after she began her work on the topic.
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Meyer BJ. Sex and death: from cell fate specification to dynamic control of X-chromosome structure and gene expression. Mol Biol Cell 2018; 29:2616-2621. [PMID: 30376434 PMCID: PMC6249838 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e18-06-0397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining sex is a binary developmental decision that most metazoans must make. Like many organisms, Caenorhabditis elegans specifies sex (XO male or XX hermaphrodite) by tallying X-chromosome number. We dissected this precise counting mechanism to determine how tiny differences in concentrations of signals are translated into dramatically different developmental fates. Determining sex by counting chromosomes solved one problem but created another-an imbalance in X gene products. We found that nematodes compensate for the difference in X-chromosome dose between sexes by reducing transcription from both hermaphrodite X chromosomes. In a surprising feat of evolution, X-chromosome regulation is functionally related to a structural problem of all mitotic and meiotic chromosomes: achieving ordered compaction of chromosomes before segregation. We showed the dosage compensation complex is a condensin complex that imposes a specific three--dimensional architecture onto hermaphrodite X chromosomes. It also triggers enrichment of histone modification H4K20me1. We discovered the machinery and mechanism underlying H4K20me1 enrichment and demonstrated its pivotal role in regulating higher-order X-chromosome structure and gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J. Meyer
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204,*Address correspondence to: Barbara J. Meyer ()
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20
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Brejc K, Bian Q, Uzawa S, Wheeler BS, Anderson EC, King DS, Kranzusch PJ, Preston CG, Meyer BJ. Dynamic Control of X Chromosome Conformation and Repression by a Histone H4K20 Demethylase. Cell 2017; 171:85-102.e23. [PMID: 28867287 PMCID: PMC5678999 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Revised: 06/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/25/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Chromatin modification and higher-order chromosome structure play key roles in gene regulation, but their functional interplay in controlling gene expression is elusive. We have discovered the machinery and mechanism underlying the dynamic enrichment of histone modification H4K20me1 on hermaphrodite X chromosomes during C. elegans dosage compensation and demonstrated H4K20me1's pivotal role in regulating higher-order chromosome structure and X-chromosome-wide gene expression. The structure and the activity of the dosage compensation complex (DCC) subunit DPY-21 define a Jumonji demethylase subfamily that converts H4K20me2 to H4K20me1 in worms and mammals. Selective inactivation of demethylase activity eliminates H4K20me1 enrichment in somatic cells, elevates X-linked gene expression, reduces X chromosome compaction, and disrupts X chromosome conformation by diminishing the formation of topologically associating domains (TADs). Unexpectedly, DPY-21 also associates with autosomes of germ cells in a DCC-independent manner to enrich H4K20me1 and trigger chromosome compaction. Our findings demonstrate the direct link between chromatin modification and higher-order chromosome structure in long-range regulation of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katjuša Brejc
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Qian Bian
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Satoru Uzawa
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Bayly S Wheeler
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Erika C Anderson
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - David S King
- HHMI Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
| | - Philip J Kranzusch
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Christine G Preston
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA.
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21
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Mason AG, Slieker RC, Balog J, Lemmers RJLF, Wong CJ, Yao Z, Lim JW, Filippova GN, Ne E, Tawil R, Heijmans BT, Tapscott SJ, van der Maarel SM. SMCHD1 regulates a limited set of gene clusters on autosomal chromosomes. Skelet Muscle 2017; 7:12. [PMID: 28587678 PMCID: PMC5461771 DOI: 10.1186/s13395-017-0129-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is in most cases caused by a contraction of the D4Z4 macrosatellite repeat on chromosome 4 (FSHD1) or by mutations in the SMCHD1 or DNMT3B gene (FSHD2). Both situations result in the incomplete epigenetic repression of the D4Z4-encoded retrogene DUX4 in somatic cells, leading to the aberrant expression of DUX4 in the skeletal muscle. In mice, Smchd1 regulates chromatin repression at different loci, having a role in CpG methylation establishment and/or maintenance. METHODS To investigate the global effects of harboring heterozygous SMCHD1 mutations on DNA methylation in humans, we combined 450k methylation analysis on mononuclear monocytes from female heterozygous SMCHD1 mutation carriers and unaffected controls with reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) on FSHD2 and control myoblast cell lines. Candidate loci were then evaluated for SMCHD1 binding using ChIP-qPCR and expression was evaluated using RT-qPCR. RESULTS We identified a limited number of clustered autosomal loci with CpG hypomethylation in SMCHD1 mutation carriers: the protocadherin (PCDH) cluster on chromosome 5, the transfer RNA (tRNA) and 5S rRNA clusters on chromosome 1, the HOXB and HOXD clusters on chromosomes 17 and 2, respectively, and the D4Z4 repeats on chromosomes 4 and 10. Furthermore, minor increases in RNA expression were seen in FSHD2 myoblasts for some of the PCDHβ cluster isoforms, tRNA isoforms, and a HOXB isoform in comparison to controls, in addition to the previously reported effects on DUX4 expression. SMCHD1 was bound at DNAseI hypersensitivity sites known to regulate the PCDHβ cluster and at the chromosome 1 tRNA cluster, with decreased binding in SMCHD1 mutation carriers at the PCDHβ cluster sites. CONCLUSIONS Our study is the first to investigate the global methylation effects in humans resulting from heterozygous mutations in SMCHD1. Our results suggest that SMCHD1 acts as a repressor on a limited set of autosomal gene clusters, as an observed reduction in methylation associates with a loss of SMCHD1 binding and increased expression for some of the loci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda G Mason
- Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Roderick C Slieker
- Molecular Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Judit Balog
- Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Chao-Jen Wong
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Zizhen Yao
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jong-Won Lim
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Galina N Filippova
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Enrico Ne
- Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rabi Tawil
- Neuromuscular Disease Unit, Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Bas T Heijmans
- Molecular Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Aging, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Stephen J Tapscott
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
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22
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Rana V, Bosco G. Condensin Regulation of Genome Architecture. J Cell Physiol 2017; 232:1617-1625. [PMID: 27888504 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.25702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Condensin complexes exist across all domains of life and are central to the structure and organization of chromatin. As architectural proteins, condensins control chromatin compaction during interphase and mitosis. Condensin activity has been well studied in mitosis but have recently emerged as important regulators of genome organization and gene expression during interphase. Here, we focus our discussion on recent findings on the molecular mechanism and how condensins are used to shape chromosomes during interphase. These findings suggest condensin activity during interphase is required for proper chromosome organization. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 1617-1625, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vibhuti Rana
- Department of Molecular Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Giovanni Bosco
- Department of Molecular Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire
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23
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Roles of SMC Complexes During T Lymphocyte Development and Function. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2017; 106:17-42. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2016.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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24
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Snyder MJ, Lau AC, Brouhard EA, Davis MB, Jiang J, Sifuentes MH, Csankovszki G. Anchoring of Heterochromatin to the Nuclear Lamina Reinforces Dosage Compensation-Mediated Gene Repression. PLoS Genet 2016; 12:e1006341. [PMID: 27690361 PMCID: PMC5045178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Higher order chromosome structure and nuclear architecture can have profound effects on gene regulation. We analyzed how compartmentalizing the genome by tethering heterochromatic regions to the nuclear lamina affects dosage compensation in the nematode C. elegans. In this organism, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) binds both X chromosomes of hermaphrodites to repress transcription two-fold, thus balancing gene expression between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. X chromosome structure is disrupted by mutations in DCC subunits. Using X chromosome paint fluorescence microscopy, we found that X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are also disrupted when the mechanisms that anchor heterochromatin to the nuclear lamina are defective. Strikingly, the heterochromatic left end of the X chromosome is less affected than the gene-rich middle region, which lacks heterochromatic anchors. These changes in X chromosome structure and subnuclear localization are accompanied by small, but significant levels of derepression of X-linked genes as measured by RNA-seq, without any observable defects in DCC localization and DCC-mediated changes in histone modifications. We propose a model in which heterochromatic tethers on the left arm of the X cooperate with the DCC to compact and peripherally relocate the X chromosomes, contributing to gene repression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha J. Snyder
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Alyssa C. Lau
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Brouhard
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Michael B. Davis
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Jianhao Jiang
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Margarita H. Sifuentes
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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25
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Gatica LV, Rosa AL. A complex interplay of genetic and epigenetic events leads to abnormal expression of the DUX4 gene in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Neuromuscul Disord 2016; 26:844-852. [PMID: 27816329 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmd.2016.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Revised: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a prevalent inherited human myopathy, develops following a complex interplay of genetic and epigenetic events. FSHD1, the more frequent genetic form, is associated with: (1) deletion of an integral number of 3.3 Kb (D4Z4) repeated elements at the chromosomal region 4q35, (2) a specific 4q35 subtelomeric haplotype denominated 4qA, and (3) decreased methylation of cytosines at the 4q35-linked D4Z4 units. FSHD2 is most often caused by mutations at the SMCHD1 (Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes Hinge Domain 1) gene, on chromosome 18p11.32. FSHD2 individuals also carry the 4qA haplotype and decreased methylation of D4Z4 cytosines. Each D4Z4 unit contains a copy of the retrotransposed gene DUX4 (double homeobox containing protein 4). DUX4 gene functionality was questioned in the past because of its pseudogene-like structure, its location on repetitive telomeric DNA sequences (i.e. junk DNA), and the elusive nature of both the DUX4 transcript and the encoded protein, DUX4. It is now known that DUX4 is a nuclear-located transcription factor, which is normally expressed in germinal tissues. Aberrant DUX4 expression triggers a deregulation cascade inhibiting muscle differentiation, sensitizing cells to oxidative stress, and inducing muscle atrophy. A unifying pathogenic model for FSHD emerged with the recognition that the FSHD-permissive 4qA haplotype corresponds to a polyadenylation signal that stabilizes the DUX4 mRNA, allowing the toxic protein DUX4 to be expressed. This working hypothesis for FSHD pathogenesis highlights the intrinsic epigenetic nature of the molecular mechanism underlying FSHD as well as the pathogenic pathway connecting FSHD1 and FSHD2. Pharmacological control of either DUX4 gene expression or the activity of the DUX4 protein constitutes current potential rational therapeutic approaches to treat FSHD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alberto Luis Rosa
- Laboratorio de Biología Celular y Molecular, Fundación Allende, Argentina; Servicio de Genética Médica y Laboratorio Diagnóstico Biología Molecular, Sanatorio Allende, Córdoba, Argentina; Laboratorio de Genética y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Argentina.
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26
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Wheeler BS, Anderson E, Frøkjær-Jensen C, Bian Q, Jorgensen E, Meyer BJ. Chromosome-wide mechanisms to decouple gene expression from gene dose during sex-chromosome evolution. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27572259 PMCID: PMC5047749 DOI: 10.7554/elife.17365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in chromosome number impair fitness by disrupting the balance of gene expression. Here we analyze mechanisms to compensate for changes in gene dose that accompanied the evolution of sex chromosomes from autosomes. Using single-copy transgenes integrated throughout the Caenorhabditis elegans genome, we show that expression of all X-linked transgenes is balanced between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. However, proximity of a dosage compensation complex (DCC) binding site (rex site) is neither necessary to repress X-linked transgenes nor sufficient to repress transgenes on autosomes. Thus, X is broadly permissive for dosage compensation, and the DCC acts via a chromosome-wide mechanism to balance transcription between sexes. In contrast, no analogous X-chromosome-wide mechanism balances transcription between X and autosomes: expression of compensated hermaphrodite X-linked transgenes is half that of autosomal transgenes. Furthermore, our results argue against an X-chromosome dosage compensation model contingent upon rex-directed positioning of X relative to the nuclear periphery. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17365.001 DNA inside cells is packaged into structures called chromosomes, each of which contains numerous genes. Many organisms, including humans, have two copies of most chromosomes in their cells. If the process of cell division goes awry, cells can end up with too many or too few copies of their chromosomes, which can cause serious illnesses. Sex chromosomes pose a conundrum for cells. In humans, females have two copies of the X chromosome, whereas males only have one. This means that males have half the copy number (dose) of genes on the X chromosome. Human cells correct this imbalance by suppressing the activity, or expression, of most of the genes on one of the X chromosomes in females. “Dosage compensation” also occurs in the roundworm species Caenorhabditis elegans, because male worms have one X chromosome whilst hermaphrodites have two. The dosage compensation mechanism in roundworms differs from that in humans. It involves turning down the expression of both hermaphrodite X chromosomes by half. The process is enacted by a dosage compensation complex that binds to specific sites along both hermaphrodite X chromosomes. Dosage compensation mechanisms that reduce X chromosome expression in females cause sex chromosomes to have lower gene expression than non-sex chromosomes. Modern sex chromosomes evolved from a pair of non-sex chromosomes, and males lost one copy of all of the genes located on those ancestral chromosomes. This evolutionary history causes both sexes to have lower gene expression from X chromosomes than the other chromosomes, raising the question of whether a mechanism exists to balance out the difference in gene expression between sex chromosomes and non-sex chromosomes. Wheeler et al. now show that the expression of any foreign gene artificially added to the X chromosomes of C. elegans is equalized between males and hermaphrodites despite the difference in gene dose. The equalization works regardless of where on the X chromosome the new gene is added. The foreign gene does not need to be adjacent to a binding site for the dosage compensation complex. These results indicate that dosage compensation mechanisms regulate gene expression on a chromosome-wide scale. Wheeler et al. also show that genes added to X chromosomes are expressed at half the level as the same genes added to non-sex chromosomes. These results mean that no chromosome-wide mechanism balances gene expression levels between the X chromosome and the non-sex chromosomes. It remains unknown how C. elegans, and many other living organisms, evolved to tolerate a lower level of gene expression from the sex chromosomes. Instead of a chromosome-wide mechanism, it is likely that individual genes evolved different ways to alter their expression levels. Working out what these mechanisms are remains a challenge for further research. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17365.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Bayly S Wheeler
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Erika Anderson
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Christian Frøkjær-Jensen
- Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States.,Danish National Research Foundation Centre for Cardiac Arrhythmia, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Qian Bian
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Erik Jorgensen
- Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
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27
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Abstract
SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) complexes - which include condensin, cohesin and the SMC5-SMC6 complex - are major components of chromosomes in all living organisms, from bacteria to humans. These ring-shaped protein machines, which are powered by ATP hydrolysis, topologically encircle DNA. With their ability to hold more than one strand of DNA together, SMC complexes control a plethora of chromosomal activities. Notable among these are chromosome condensation and sister chromatid cohesion. Moreover, SMC complexes have an important role in DNA repair. Recent mechanistic insight into the function and regulation of these universal chromosomal machines enables us to propose molecular models of chromosome structure, dynamics and function, illuminating one of the fundamental entities in biology.
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Yokoyama Y, Zhu H, Zhang R, Noma KI. A novel role for the condensin II complex in cellular senescence. Cell Cycle 2016; 14:2160-70. [PMID: 26017022 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2015.1049778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Although cellular senescence is accompanied by global alterations in genome architecture, how the genome is restructured during the senescent processes is not well understood. Here, we show that the hCAP-H2 subunit of the condensin II complex exists as either a full-length protein or an N-terminus truncated variant (ΔN). While the full-length hCAP-H2 associates with mitotic chromosomes, the ΔN variant exists as an insoluble nuclear structure. When overexpressed, both hCAP-H2 isoforms assemble this nuclear architecture and induce senescence-associated heterochromatic foci (SAHF). The hCAP-H2ΔN protein accumulates as cells approach senescence, and hCAP-H2 knockdown inhibits oncogene-induced senescence. This study identifies a novel mechanism whereby condensin drives senescence via nuclear/genomic reorganization.
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Key Words
- BrdU, bromodeoxyuridine
- CDK, cyclin dependent kinase
- DAPI, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole
- NCAPH2, non-SMC chromosome-associated protein H2 gene
- RPE-1, hTERT-immortalized retinal pigment epithelial cell line
- Rb, retinoblastoma protein
- SA-β-gal, senescence-associated β-galactosidase
- SADS, senescence-associated distension of satellites
- SAHF
- SAHF, senescence-associated heterochromatic foci
- SMC, structural maintenance of chromosomes
- cellular senescence
- condensin
- genome organization
- hCAP-H2, human chromosome-associated protein H2
- hTERT, human telomerase reverse transcriptase
- human
- nuclear architecture
- oncogene-induced senescence
- shRNA, short-hairpin RNA.
- uORF, upstream open reading frame
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The hinge domain of the epigenetic repressor Smchd1 adopts an unconventional homodimeric configuration. Biochem J 2016; 473:733-42. [PMID: 26733688 DOI: 10.1042/bj20151049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins are fundamental to chromosome organization. They share a characteristic domain structure, featuring a central SMC hinge domain that is critical for forming SMC dimers and interacting with nucleic acids. The structural maintenance of chromosomes flexible hinge domain containing 1 (Smchd1) is a non-canonical member of the SMC family. Although it has been well established that Smchd1 serves crucial roles in epigenetic silencing events implicated in development and disease, much less is known about the structure and function of the Smchd1 protein. Recently, we demonstrated that the C-terminal hinge domain of Smchd1 forms a nucleic acid-binding homodimer; however, it is unclear how the protomers are assembled within the hinge homodimer and how the full-length Smchd1 protein is organized with respect to the hinge region. In the present study, by employing SAXS we demonstrate that the hinge domain of Smchd1 probably adopts an unconventional homodimeric arrangement augmented by an intermolecular coiled coil formed between the two monomers. Such a dimeric structure differs markedly from that of archetypical SMC proteins, raising the possibility that Smchd1 binds chromatin in an unconventional manner.
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Sharma R, Meister P. Dosage compensation and nuclear organization: cluster to control chromosome-wide gene expression. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2016; 37:9-16. [PMID: 26748388 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2015.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Revised: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 11/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In many species, male and female animals differ in the number of X chromosomes they possess. As a consequence, large scale differences in gene dosage exist between sexes; a phenomenon that is rarely tolerated by the organism for changes in autosome dosage. Several strategies have evolved independently to balance X-linked gene dosage between sexes, named dosage compensation (DC). The molecular basis of DC differs among the three best-studied examples: mammals, fruit fly and nematodes. In this short review, we summarize recent microscopic and chromosome conformation capture data that reveal key features of the compensated X chromosome and highlight the events leading to the establishment of a functional, specialized nuclear compartment, the X domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Sharma
- Cell Fate and Nuclear Organization, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter Meister
- Cell Fate and Nuclear Organization, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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Developmental Dynamics of X-Chromosome Dosage Compensation by the DCC and H4K20me1 in C. elegans. PLoS Genet 2015; 11:e1005698. [PMID: 26641248 PMCID: PMC4671695 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In Caenorhabditis elegans, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) specifically binds to and represses transcription from both X chromosomes in hermaphrodites. The DCC is composed of an X-specific condensin complex that interacts with several proteins. During embryogenesis, DCC starts localizing to the X chromosomes around the 40-cell stage, and is followed by X-enrichment of H4K20me1 between 100-cell to comma stage. Here, we analyzed dosage compensation of the X chromosome between sexes, and the roles of dpy-27 (condensin subunit), dpy-21 (non-condensin DCC member), set-1 (H4K20 monomethylase) and set-4 (H4K20 di-/tri-methylase) in X chromosome repression using mRNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses across several developmental time points. We found that the DCC starts repressing the X chromosomes by the 40-cell stage, but X-linked transcript levels remain significantly higher in hermaphrodites compared to males through the comma stage of embryogenesis. Dpy-27 and dpy-21 are required for X chromosome repression throughout development, but particularly in early embryos dpy-27 and dpy-21 mutations produced distinct expression changes, suggesting a DCC independent role for dpy-21. We previously hypothesized that the DCC increases H4K20me1 by reducing set-4 activity on the X chromosomes. Accordingly, in the set-4 mutant, H4K20me1 increased more from the autosomes compared to the X, equalizing H4K20me1 level between X and autosomes. H4K20me1 increase on the autosomes led to a slight repression, resulting in a relative effect of X derepression. H4K20me1 depletion in the set-1 mutant showed greater X derepression compared to equalization of H4K20me1 levels between X and autosomes in the set-4 mutant, indicating that H4K20me1 level is important, but X to autosomal balance of H4K20me1 contributes slightly to X-repression. Thus H4K20me1 is not only a downstream effector of the DCC [corrected].In summary, X chromosome dosage compensation starts in early embryos as the DCC localizes to the X, and is strengthened in later embryogenesis by H4K20me1.
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Akai Y, Kanai R, Nakazawa N, Ebe M, Toyoshima C, Yanagida M. ATPase-dependent auto-phosphorylation of the open condensin hinge diminishes DNA binding. Open Biol 2015; 4:rsob.140193. [PMID: 25520186 PMCID: PMC4281712 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.140193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Condensin, which contains two structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) subunits and three regulatory non-SMC subunits, is essential for many chromosomal functions, including mitotic chromosome condensation and segregation. The ATPase domain of the SMC subunit comprises two termini connected by a long helical domain that is interrupted by a central hinge. The role of the ATPase domain has remained elusive. Here we report that the condensin SMC subunit of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is phosphorylated in a manner that requires the presence of the intact SMC ATPase Walker motif. Principal phosphorylation sites reside in the conserved, glycine-rich stretch at the hinge interface surrounded by the highly basic DNA-binding patch. Phosphorylation reduces affinity for DNA. Consistently, phosphomimetic mutants produce severe mitotic phenotypes. Structural evidence suggests that prior opening (though slight) of the hinge is necessary for phosphorylation, which is implicated in condensin's dissociation from and its progression along DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Akai
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Ryuta Kanai
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Norihiko Nakazawa
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Masahiro Ebe
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Chikashi Toyoshima
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Mitsuhiro Yanagida
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
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33
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Sharma R, Meister P. Linking dosage compensation and X chromosome nuclear organization in C. elegans. Nucleus 2015; 6:266-72. [PMID: 26055265 DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2015.1059546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal sex is determined by the number of X chromosomes in many species, creating unequal gene dosage (aneuploidy) between sexes. Dosage Compensation mechanisms equalize this dosage difference by regulating X-linked gene expression. In the nematode C. elegans the current model suggests that DC is achieved by a 2-fold transcriptional downregulation in hermaphrodites mediated by the Dosage Compensation Complex (DCC), which restricts access to RNA Polymerase II by an unknown mechanism. Taking a nuclear organization point of view, we showed that the male X chromosome resides in the pore proximal subnuclear compartment whereas the DCC bound to the X, inhibits this spatial organization in the hermaphrodites. Here we discuss our results and propose a model that reassigns the role of DCC from repression of genes to inhibition of activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Sharma
- a Cell Fate and Nuclear Organization ; Institute of Cell Biology ; University of Bern ; Bern , Switzerland
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34
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Condensin-driven remodelling of X chromosome topology during dosage compensation. Nature 2015; 523:240-4. [PMID: 26030525 PMCID: PMC4498965 DOI: 10.1038/nature14450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 580] [Impact Index Per Article: 64.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The three-dimensional organization of a genome plays a critical role in regulating gene expression, yet little is known about the machinery and mechanisms that determine higher-order chromosome structure1,2. Here we perform genome-wide chromosome conformation capture analysis, FISH, and RNA-seq to obtain comprehensive 3D maps of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome and to dissect X-chromosome dosage compensation, which balances gene expression between XX hermaphrodites and XO males. The dosage compensation complex (DCC), a condensin complex, binds to both hermaphrodite X chromosomes via sequence-specific recruitment elements on X (rex sites) to reduce chromosome-wide gene expression by half3–7. Most DCC condensin subunits also act in other condensin complexes to control the compaction and resolution of all mitotic and meiotic chromosomes5,6. By comparing chromosome structure in wild-type and DCC-defective embryos, we show that the DCC remodels hermaphrodite X chromosomes into a sex-specific spatial conformation distinct from autosomes. Dosage-compensated X chromosomes consist of self-interacting domains (~1 Mb) resembling mammalian Topologically Associating Domains (TADs)8,9. TADs on X have stronger boundaries and more regular spacing than on autosomes. Many TAD boundaries on X coincide with the highest-affinity rex sites and become diminished or lost in DCC-defective mutants, thereby converting the topology of X to a conformation resembling autosomes. rex sites engage in DCC-dependent long-range interactions, with the most frequent interactions occurring between rex sites at DCC-dependent TAD boundaries. These results imply that the DCC reshapes the topology of X by forming new TAD boundaries and reinforcing weak boundaries through interactions between its highest-affinity binding sites. As this model predicts, deletion of an endogenous rex site at a DCC-dependent TAD boundary using CRISPR/Cas9 greatly diminished the boundary. Thus, the DCC imposes a distinct higher-order structure onto X while regulating gene expression chromosome wide.
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Lau AC, Csankovszki G. Balancing up and downregulation of the C. elegans X chromosomes. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2015; 31:50-6. [PMID: 25966908 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2015.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2014] [Accepted: 04/02/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
In Caenorhabditis elegans, males have one X chromosome and hermaphrodites have two. Emerging evidence indicates that the male X is transcriptionally more active than autosomes to balance the single X to two sets of autosomes. Because upregulation is not limited to males, hermaphrodites need to strike back and downregulate expression from the two X chromosomes to balance gene expression in their genome. Hermaphrodite-specific downregulation involves binding of the dosage compensation complex to both Xs. Advances in recent years revealed that the action of the dosage compensation complex results in compaction of the X chromosomes, changes in the distribution of histone modifications, and ultimately limiting RNA Polymerase II loading to achieve chromosome-wide gene repression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa C Lau
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, USA
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, USA.
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Xu X, Nakazawa N, Yanagida M. Condensin HEAT subunits required for DNA repair, kinetochore/centromere function and ploidy maintenance in fission yeast. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0119347. [PMID: 25764183 PMCID: PMC4357468 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 01/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Condensin, a central player in eukaryotic chromosomal dynamics, contains five evolutionarily-conserved subunits. Two SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) subunits contain ATPase, hinge, and coiled-coil domains. One non-SMC subunit is similar to bacterial kleisin, and two other non-SMC subunits contain HEAT (similar to armadillo) repeats. Here we report isolation and characterization of 21 fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) mutants for three non-SMC subunits, created using error-prone mutagenesis that resulted in single-amino acid substitutions. Beside condensation, segregation, and DNA repair defects, similar to those observed in previously isolated SMC and cnd2 mutants, novel phenotypes were observed for mutants of HEAT-repeats containing Cnd1 and Cnd3 subunits. cnd3-L269P is hypersensitive to the microtubule poison, thiabendazole, revealing defects in kinetochore/centromere and spindle assembly checkpoints. Three cnd1 and three cnd3 mutants increased cell size and doubled DNA content, thereby eliminating the haploid state. Five of these mutations reside in helix B of HEAT repeats. Two non-SMC condensin subunits, Cnd1 and Cnd3, are thus implicated in ploidy maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingya Xu
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan
- Department of Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Norihiko Nakazawa
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Mitsuhiro Yanagida
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan
- * E-mail:
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37
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Lau AC, Csankovszki G. Condensin-mediated chromosome organization and gene regulation. Front Genet 2015; 5:473. [PMID: 25628648 PMCID: PMC4292777 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2014] [Accepted: 12/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In many organisms sexual fate is determined by a chromosome-based method which entails a difference in sex chromosome-linked gene dosage. Consequently, a gene regulatory mechanism called dosage compensation equalizes X-linked gene expression between the sexes. Dosage compensation initiates as cells transition from pluripotency to differentiation. In Caenorhabditis elegans, dosage compensation is achieved by the dosage compensation complex (DCC) binding to both X chromosomes in hermaphrodites to downregulate gene expression by twofold. The DCC contains a subcomplex (condensin I(DC)) similar to the evolutionarily conserved condensin complexes which play a fundamental role in chromosome dynamics during mitosis. Therefore, mechanisms related to mitotic chromosome condensation are hypothesized to mediate dosage compensation. Consistent with this hypothesis, monomethylation of histone H4 lysine 20 is increased, whereas acetylation of histone H4 lysine 16 is decreased, both on mitotic chromosomes and on interphase dosage compensated X chromosomes in worms. These observations suggest that interphase dosage compensated X chromosomes maintain some characteristics associated with condensed mitotic chromosome. This chromosome state is stably propagated from one cell generation to the next. In this review we will speculate on how the biochemical activities of condensin can achieve both mitotic chromosome compaction and gene repression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa C Lau
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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38
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Sharma R, Jost D, Kind J, Gómez-Saldivar G, van Steensel B, Askjaer P, Vaillant C, Meister P. Differential spatial and structural organization of the X chromosome underlies dosage compensation in C. elegans. Genes Dev 2014; 28:2591-6. [PMID: 25452271 PMCID: PMC4248290 DOI: 10.1101/gad.248864.114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The adjustment of X-linked gene expression to the X chromosome copy number (dosage compensation [DC]) has been widely studied as a model of chromosome-wide gene regulation. In Caenorhabditis elegans, DC is achieved by twofold down-regulation of gene expression from both Xs in hermaphrodites. We show that in males, the single X chromosome interacts with nuclear pore proteins, while in hermaphrodites, the DC complex (DCC) impairs this interaction and alters X localization. Our results put forward a structural model of DC in which X-specific sequences locate the X chromosome in transcriptionally active domains in males, while the DCC prevents this in hermaphrodites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Sharma
- Cell Fate and Nuclear Organization, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Jost
- Laboratoire de Physique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, UMR 5672, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Jop Kind
- Division of Gene Regulation, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1006 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Bas van Steensel
- Division of Gene Regulation, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1006 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Askjaer
- Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), The Junta of Andalusia (JA), Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology (CABD), 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Cédric Vaillant
- Laboratoire de Physique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, UMR 5672, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Peter Meister
- Cell Fate and Nuclear Organization, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
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Lau AC, Nabeshima K, Csankovszki G. The C. elegans dosage compensation complex mediates interphase X chromosome compaction. Epigenetics Chromatin 2014; 7:31. [PMID: 25400696 PMCID: PMC4232692 DOI: 10.1186/1756-8935-7-31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Dosage compensation is a specialized gene regulatory mechanism which equalizes X-linked gene expression between sexes. In Caenorhabditis elegans, dosage compensation is achieved by the activity of the dosage compensation complex (DCC). The DCC localizes to both X chromosomes in hermaphrodites to downregulate gene expression by half. The DCC contains a subcomplex (condensin IDC) similar to the evolutionarily conserved condensin complexes which play fundamental roles in chromosome dynamics during mitosis and meiosis. Therefore, mechanisms related to mitotic chromosome condensation have been long hypothesized to mediate dosage compensation. However experimental evidence was lacking. Results Using 3D FISH microscopy to measure the volumes of X and chromosome I territories and to measure distances between individual loci, we show that hermaphrodite worms deficient in DCC proteins have enlarged interphase X chromosomes when compared to wild type. By contrast, chromosome I is unaffected. Interestingly, hermaphrodite worms depleted of condensin I or II show no phenotype. Therefore X chromosome compaction is specific to condensin IDC. In addition, we show that SET-1, SET-4, and SIR-2.1, histone modifiers whose activity is regulated by the DCC, need to be present for the compaction of the X chromosome territory. Conclusion These results support the idea that condensin IDC, and the histone modifications regulated by the DCC, mediate interphase X chromosome compaction. Our results link condensin-mediated chromosome compaction, an activity connected to mitotic chromosome condensation, to chromosome-wide repression of gene expression in interphase. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1756-8935-7-31) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa C Lau
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Michigan
| | - Kentaro Nabeshima
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Michigan
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Michigan
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40
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The maintenance of chromosome structure: positioning and functioning of SMC complexes. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2014; 15:601-14. [PMID: 25145851 DOI: 10.1038/nrm3857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complexes, which in eukaryotic cells include cohesin, condensin and the Smc5/6 complex, are central regulators of chromosome dynamics and control sister chromatid cohesion, chromosome condensation, DNA replication, DNA repair and transcription. Even though the molecular mechanisms that lead to this large range of functions are still unclear, it has been established that the complexes execute their functions through their association with chromosomal DNA. A large set of data also indicates that SMC complexes work as intermolecular and intramolecular linkers of DNA. When combining these insights with results from ongoing analyses of their chromosomal binding, and how this interaction influences the structure and dynamics of chromosomes, a picture of how SMC complexes carry out their many functions starts to emerge.
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41
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López Y, Vandenbon A, Nakai K. A set of structural features defines the cis-regulatory modules of antenna-expressed genes in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS One 2014; 9:e104342. [PMID: 25153327 PMCID: PMC4143197 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2014] [Accepted: 07/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Unraveling the biological information within the regulatory region (RR) of genes has become one of the major focuses of current genomic research. It has been hypothesized that RRs of co-expressed genes share similar architecture, but to the best of our knowledge, no studies have simultaneously examined multiple structural features, such as positioning of cis-regulatory elements relative to transcription start sites and to each other, and the order and orientation of regulatory motifs, to accurately describe overall cis-regulatory structure. In our work we present an improved computational method that builds a feature collection based on all of these structural features. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by modeling the cis-regulatory modules of antenna-expressed genes in Drosophila melanogaster. Six potential antenna-related motifs were predicted initially, including three that appeared to be novel. A feature set was created with the predicted motifs, where a correlation-based filter was used to remove irrelevant features, and a genetic algorithm was designed to optimize the feature set. Finally, a set of eight highly informative structural features was obtained for the RRs of antenna-expressed genes, achieving an area under the curve of 0.841. We used these features to score all D. melanogaster RRs for potentially unknown antenna-expressed genes sharing a similar regulatory structure. Validation of our predictions with an independent RNA sequencing dataset showed that 76.7% of genes with high scoring RRs were expressed in antenna. In addition, we found that the structural features we identified are highly conserved in RRs of orthologs in other Drosophila sibling species. This approach to identify tissue-specific regulatory structures showed comparable performance to previous approaches, but also uncovered additional interesting features because it also considered the order and orientation of motifs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yosvany López
- Department of Computational Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
- Human Genome Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Alexis Vandenbon
- Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kenta Nakai
- Human Genome Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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42
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Chery J, Larschan E. X-marks the spot: X-chromosome identification during dosage compensation. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2014; 1839:234-40. [PMID: 24406325 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2013.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2013] [Revised: 12/29/2013] [Accepted: 12/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Dosage compensation is the essential process that equalizes the dosage of X-linked genes between the sexes in heterogametic species. Because all of the genes along the length of a single chromosome are co-regulated, dosage compensation serves as a model system for understanding how domains of coordinate gene regulation are established. Dosage compensation has been best studied in mammals, flies and worms. Although dosage compensation systems are seemingly diverse across species, there are key shared principles of nucleation and spreading that are critical for accurate targeting of the dosage compensation complex to the X-chromosome(s). We will highlight the mechanisms by which long non-coding RNAs function together with DNA sequence elements to tether dosage compensation complexes to the X-chromosome. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chromatin and epigenetic regulation of animal development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Chery
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Erica Larschan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
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43
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Custer LM, Snyder MJ, Flegel K, Csankovszki G. The onset of C. elegans dosage compensation is linked to the loss of developmental plasticity. Dev Biol 2013; 385:279-90. [PMID: 24252776 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Revised: 09/17/2013] [Accepted: 11/03/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Dosage compensation (DC) equalizes X-linked gene expression between sexes. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) localizes to both X chromosomes in hermaphrodites and downregulates gene expression 2-fold. The DCC first localizes to hermaphrodite X chromosomes at the 30-cell stage, coincident with a developmental transition from plasticity to differentiation. To test whether DC onset is linked to loss of developmental plasticity, we established a timeline for the accumulation of DC-mediated chromatin features on X (depletion of histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation (H4K16ac) and enrichment of H4K20 monomethylation (H4K20me1)) in both wild type and developmentally delayed embryos. Surprisingly, we found that H4K16ac is depleted from the X even before the 30-cell stage in a DCC-independent manner. This depletion requires the activities of MES-2, MES-3, and MES-6 (a complex similar to the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2), and MES-4. By contrast, H4K20me1 becomes enriched on X chromosomes several cell cycles after DCC localization to the X, suggesting that it is a late mark in DC. MES-2 also promotes differentiation, and mes-2 mutant embryos exhibit prolonged developmental plasticity. Consistent with the hypothesis that the onset of DC is linked to differentiation, DCC localization and H4K20me1 accumulation on the X chromosomes are delayed in mes mutant hermaphrodite embryos. Furthermore, the onset of hermaphrodite-specific transcription of sdc-2 (which triggers DC) is delayed in mes-2 mutants. We propose that as embryonic blastomeres lose their developmental plasticity, hermaphrodite X chromosomes transition from a MES protein-regulated state to DCC-mediated repression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Custer
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA
| | - Martha J Snyder
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA
| | - Kerry Flegel
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA
| | - Györgyi Csankovszki
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA.
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44
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Wallace HA, Bosco G. Condensins and 3D Organization of the Interphase Nucleus. CURRENT GENETIC MEDICINE REPORTS 2013; 1:219-229. [PMID: 24563825 DOI: 10.1007/s40142-013-0024-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Condensins are conserved multi-subunit protein complexes that participate in eukaryotic genome organization. Well known for their role in mitotic chromosome condensation, condensins have recently emerged as integral components of diverse interphase processes. Recent evidence shows that condensins are involved in chromatin organization, gene expression, and DNA repair and indicates similarities between the interphase and mitotic functions of condensin. Recent work has enhanced our knowledge of how chromatin architecture is dynamically regulated by condensin to impact essential cellular processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather A Wallace
- Department of Genetics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 609 Vail, HB 7400, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Giovanni Bosco
- Department of Genetics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 609 Vail, HB 7400, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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45
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Webster CM, Wu L, Douglas D, Soukas AA. A non-canonical role for the C. elegans dosage compensation complex in growth and metabolic regulation downstream of TOR complex 2. Development 2013; 140:3601-12. [PMID: 23884442 DOI: 10.1242/dev.094292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The target of rapamycin complex 2 (TORC2) pathway is evolutionarily conserved and regulates cellular energetics, growth and metabolism. Loss of function of the essential TORC2 subunit Rictor (RICT-1) in Caenorhabditis elegans results in slow developmental rate, reduced brood size, small body size, increased fat mass and truncated lifespan. We performed a rict-1 suppressor RNAi screen of genes encoding proteins that possess the phosphorylation sequence of the AGC family kinase SGK, a key downstream effector of TORC2. Only RNAi to dpy-21 suppressed rict-1 slow developmental rate. DPY-21 functions canonically in the ten-protein dosage compensation complex (DCC) to downregulate the expression of X-linked genes only in hermaphroditic worms. However, we find that dpy-21 functions outside of its canonical role, as RNAi to dpy-21 suppresses TORC2 mutant developmental delay in rict-1 males and hermaphrodites. RNAi to dpy-21 normalized brood size and fat storage phenotypes in rict-1 mutants, but failed to restore normal body size and normal lifespan. Further dissection of the DCC via RNAi revealed that other complex members phenocopy the dpy-21 suppression of rict-1, as did RNAi to the DCC effectors set-1 and set-4, which methylate histone 4 on lysine 20 (H4K20). TORC2/rict-1 animals show dysregulation of H4K20 mono- and tri-methyl silencing epigenetic marks, evidence of altered DCC, SET-1 and SET-4 activity. DPY-21 protein physically interacts with the protein kinase SGK-1, suggesting that TORC2 directly regulates the DCC. Together, the data suggest non-canonical, negative regulation of growth and reproduction by DPY-21 via DCC, SET-1 and SET-4 downstream of TORC2 in C. elegans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M Webster
- Center for Human Genetic Research and Diabetes Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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46
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Kruesi WS, Core LJ, Waters CT, Lis JT, Meyer BJ. Condensin controls recruitment of RNA polymerase II to achieve nematode X-chromosome dosage compensation. eLife 2013; 2:e00808. [PMID: 23795297 PMCID: PMC3687364 DOI: 10.7554/elife.00808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/09/2013] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The X-chromosome gene regulatory process called dosage compensation ensures that males (1X) and females (2X) express equal levels of X-chromosome transcripts. The mechanism in Caenorhabditis elegans has been elusive due to improperly annotated transcription start sites (TSSs). Here we define TSSs and the distribution of transcriptionally engaged RNA polymerase II (Pol II) genome-wide in wild-type and dosage-compensation-defective animals to dissect this regulatory mechanism. Our TSS-mapping strategy integrates GRO-seq, which tracks nascent transcription, with a new derivative of this method, called GRO-cap, which recovers nascent RNAs with 5' caps prior to their removal by co-transcriptional processing. Our analyses reveal that promoter-proximal pausing is rare, unlike in other metazoans, and promoters are unexpectedly far upstream from the 5' ends of mature mRNAs. We find that C. elegans equalizes X-chromosome expression between the sexes, to a level equivalent to autosomes, by reducing Pol II recruitment to promoters of hermaphrodite X-linked genes using a chromosome-restructuring condensin complex. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00808.001.
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Affiliation(s)
- William S Kruesi
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Leighton J Core
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States
| | - Colin T Waters
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States
| | - John T Lis
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
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47
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Bembenek JN, Verbrugghe KJC, Khanikar J, Csankovszki G, Chan RC. Condensin and the spindle midzone prevent cytokinesis failure induced by chromatin bridges in C. elegans embryos. Curr Biol 2013; 23:937-46. [PMID: 23684975 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Revised: 03/12/2013] [Accepted: 04/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND During cell division, chromosomes must clear the path of the cleavage furrow before the onset of cytokinesis. The abscission checkpoint in mammalian cells stabilizes the cleavage furrow in the presence of a chromatin obstruction. This provides time to resolve the obstruction before the cleavage furrow regresses or breaks the chromosomes, preventing aneuploidy or DNA damage. Two unanswered questions in the proposed mechanistic pathway of the abscission checkpoint concern factors involved in (1) resolving the obstructions and (2) coordinating obstruction resolution with the delay in cytokinesis. RESULTS We found that the one-cell and two-cell C. elegans embryos suppress furrow regression following depletion of essential chromosome-segregation factors: topoisomerase II(TOP-2), CENP-A(HCP-3), cohesin, and to a lesser degree, condensin. Chromatin obstructions activated Aurora B(AIR-2) at the spindle midzone, which is needed for the abscission checkpoint in other systems. Condensin I, but not condensin II, localizes to the spindle midzone in anaphase and to the midbody during normal cytokinesis. Interestingly, condensin I is enriched on chromatin bridges and near the midzone/midbody in an AIR-2-dependent manner. Disruption of AIR-2, the spindle midzone, or condensin leads to cytokinesis failure in a chromatin-obstruction-dependent manner. Examination of the condensin-deficient embryos uncovered defects in both the resolution of the chromatin obstructions and the maintenance of the stable cleavage furrow. CONCLUSIONS We postulate that condensin I is recruited by Aurora B(AIR-2) to aid in the resolution of chromatin obstructions and also helps generate a signal to maintain the delay in cytokinesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua N Bembenek
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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48
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Farboud B, Nix P, Jow MM, Gladden JM, Meyer BJ. Molecular antagonism between X-chromosome and autosome signals determines nematode sex. Genes Dev 2013; 27:1159-78. [PMID: 23666922 DOI: 10.1101/gad.217026.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Sex is determined in Caenorhabditis elegans by the ratio of X chromosomes to the sets of autosomes, the X:A signal. A set of genes called X signal elements (XSEs) communicates X-chromosome dose by repressing the masculinizing sex determination switch gene xol-1 (XO lethal) in a dose-dependent manner. xol-1 is active in 1X:2A embryos (males) but repressed in 2X:2A embryos (hermaphrodites). Here we showed that the autosome dose is communicated by a set of autosomal signal elements (ASEs) that act in a cumulative, dose-dependent manner to counter XSEs by stimulating xol-1 transcription. We identified new ASEs and explored the biochemical basis by which ASEs antagonize XSEs to determine sex. Multiple antagonistic molecular interactions carried out on a single promoter explain how different X:A values elicit different sexual fates. XSEs (nuclear receptors and homeodomain proteins) and ASEs (T-box and zinc finger proteins) bind directly to several sites on xol-1 to counteract each other's activities and thereby regulate xol-1 transcription. Disrupting ASE- and XSE-binding sites in vivo recapitulated the misregulation of xol-1 transcription caused by disrupting cognate signal element genes. XSE- and ASE-binding sites are distinct and nonoverlapping, suggesting that direct competition for xol-1 binding is not how XSEs counter ASEs. Instead, XSEs likely antagonize ASEs by recruiting cofactors with reciprocal activities that induce opposite transcriptional states. Most ASE- and XSE-binding sites overlap xol-1's -1 nucleosome, which carries activating chromatin marks only when xol-1 is turned on. Coactivators and corepressors tethered by proteins similar to ASEs and XSEs are known to deposit and remove such marks. The concept of a sex signal comprising competing XSEs and ASEs arose as a theory for fruit flies a century ago. Ironically, while the recent work of others showed that the fly sex signal does not fit this simple paradigm, our work shows that the worm signal does.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behnom Farboud
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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49
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Lemmers RJLF, Tawil R, Petek LM, Balog J, Block GJ, Santen GWE, Amell AM, van der Vliet PJ, Almomani R, Straasheijm KR, Krom YD, Klooster R, Sun Y, den Dunnen JT, Helmer Q, Donlin-Smith CM, Padberg GW, van Engelen BGM, de Greef JC, Aartsma-Rus AM, Frants RR, de Visser M, Desnuelle C, Sacconi S, Filippova GN, Bakker B, Bamshad MJ, Tapscott SJ, Miller DG, van der Maarel SM. Digenic inheritance of an SMCHD1 mutation and an FSHD-permissive D4Z4 allele causes facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy type 2. Nat Genet 2012; 44:1370-4. [PMID: 23143600 PMCID: PMC3671095 DOI: 10.1038/ng.2454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 437] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2012] [Accepted: 10/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) is characterized by chromatin relaxation of the D4Z4 macrosatellite array on chromosome 4 and expression of the D4Z4-encoded DUX4 gene in skeletal muscle. The more common form, autosomal dominant FSHD1, is caused by a contraction of the D4Z4 array, whereas the genetic determinants and inheritance of D4Z4 array contraction-independent FSHD2 are unclear. Here we show that mutations in SMCHD1 (structural maintenance of chromosomes flexible hinge domain containing 1) on chromosome 18 reduce SMCHD1 protein levels and segregate with genome-wide D4Z4 CpG hypomethylation in human kindreds. FSHD2 occurs in individuals who inherited both the SMCHD1 mutation and a normal-sized D4Z4 array on a chromosome 4 haplotype permissive for DUX4 expression. Reducing SMCHD1 levels in skeletal muscle results in contraction-independent DUX4 expression. Our study identifies SMCHD1 as an epigenetic modifier of the D4Z4 metastable epiallele and as a causal genetic determinant of FSHD2 and possibly other human diseases subject to epigenetic regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J L F Lemmers
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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50
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Vielle A, Lang J, Dong Y, Ercan S, Kotwaliwale C, Rechtsteiner A, Appert A, Chen QB, Dose A, Egelhofer T, Kimura H, Stempor P, Dernburg A, Lieb JD, Strome S, Ahringer J. H4K20me1 contributes to downregulation of X-linked genes for C. elegans dosage compensation. PLoS Genet 2012; 8:e1002933. [PMID: 23028348 PMCID: PMC3441679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2012] [Accepted: 07/02/2012] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The Caenorhabditis elegans dosage compensation complex (DCC) equalizes X-chromosome gene dosage between XO males and XX hermaphrodites by two-fold repression of X-linked gene expression in hermaphrodites. The DCC localizes to the X chromosomes in hermaphrodites but not in males, and some subunits form a complex homologous to condensin. The mechanism by which the DCC downregulates gene expression remains unclear. Here we show that the DCC controls the methylation state of lysine 20 of histone H4, leading to higher H4K20me1 and lower H4K20me3 levels on the X chromosomes of XX hermaphrodites relative to autosomes. We identify the PR-SET7 ortholog SET-1 and the Suv4-20 ortholog SET-4 as the major histone methyltransferases for monomethylation and di/trimethylation of H4K20, respectively, and provide evidence that X-chromosome enrichment of H4K20me1 involves inhibition of SET-4 activity on the X. RNAi knockdown of set-1 results in synthetic lethality with dosage compensation mutants and upregulation of X-linked gene expression, supporting a model whereby H4K20me1 functions with the condensin-like C. elegans DCC to repress transcription of X-linked genes. H4K20me1 is important for mitotic chromosome condensation in mammals, suggesting that increased H4K20me1 on the X may restrict access of the transcription machinery to X-linked genes via chromatin compaction. In many animals, males have one X chromosome and females have two. However, the same amount of gene expression from X chromosomes is needed in the two sexes. The process of dosage compensation (DC) globally regulates X-chromosome gene expression to make it equal between the sexes, and it occurs in different ways in different animals. In mammals, one X chromosome in females is randomly inactivated, leaving one active X chromosome. In contrast, in the nematode worm C. elegans, the two X chromosomes in hermaphrodites are repressed two-fold to match gene expression to the single X chromosome in males. Previous work in C. elegans identified proteins required for DC that bind to the X chromosome, but their mode of action is not known. Here we show that DC proteins lead to higher levels of histone H4 lysine 20 monomethylation (H4K20me1) on hermaphrodite X chromosomes and that H4K20me1 functions in repressing X-chromosome gene expression. This shows that histone modification is an important aspect of the mechanism of dosage compensation. Together with previous work linking H4K20me1 to chromatin structure regulation, our results suggest that dosage compensation might lower gene expression on hermaphrodite X chromosomes by compacting them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Vielle
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jackie Lang
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Yan Dong
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sevinc Ercan
- Department of Biology, Carolina Center for the Genome Sciences, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Chitra Kotwaliwale
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Andreas Rechtsteiner
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Alex Appert
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Q. Brent Chen
- Department of Biology, Carolina Center for the Genome Sciences, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Andrea Dose
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Thea Egelhofer
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Hiroshi Kimura
- Graduate School for Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Przemyslaw Stempor
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Abby Dernburg
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jason D. Lieb
- Department of Biology, Carolina Center for the Genome Sciences, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Susan Strome
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Julie Ahringer
- The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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