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Murthy S, Dey U, Olymon K, Abbas E, Yella VR, Kumar A. Discerning the Role of DNA Sequence, Shape, and Flexibility in Recognition by Drosophila Transcription Factors. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:1533-1543. [PMID: 38902964 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.4c00202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
The precise spatial and temporal orchestration of gene expression is crucial for the ontogeny of an organism and is mainly governed by transcription factors (TFs). The mechanism of recognition of cognate sites amid millions of base pairs in the genome by TFs is still incompletely understood. In this study, we focus on DNA sequence composition, shape, and flexibility preferences of 28 quintessential TFs from Drosophila melanogaster that are critical to development and body patterning mechanisms. Our study finds that TFs exhibit distinct predilections for DNA shape, flexibility, and sequence compositions in the proximity of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs). Notably, certain zinc finger proteins prefer GC-rich areas with less negative propeller twist, while homeodomains mainly seek AT-rich regions with a more negative propeller twist at their sites. Intriguingly, while numerous cofactors share similar binding site preferences and bind closer to each other in the genome, some cofactors that have different preferences bind farther apart. These findings shed light on TF DNA recognition and provide novel insights into possible cofactor binding and transcriptional regulation mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smrithi Murthy
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028, India
| | - Upalabdha Dey
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028, India
| | - Kaushika Olymon
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028, India
| | - Eshan Abbas
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028, India
| | - Venkata Rajesh Yella
- Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur 520002, India
| | - Aditya Kumar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028, India
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Slattery M, Ma L, Spokony RF, Arthur RK, Kheradpour P, Kundaje A, Nègre N, Crofts A, Ptashkin R, Zieba J, Ostapenko A, Suchy S, Victorsen A, Jameel N, Grundstad AJ, Gao W, Moran JR, Rehm EJ, Grossman RL, Kellis M, White KP. Diverse patterns of genomic targeting by transcriptional regulators in Drosophila melanogaster. Genome Res 2015; 24:1224-35. [PMID: 24985916 PMCID: PMC4079976 DOI: 10.1101/gr.168807.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Annotation of regulatory elements and identification of the transcription-related factors (TRFs) targeting these elements are key steps in understanding how cells interpret their genetic blueprint and their environment during development, and how that process goes awry in the case of disease. One goal of the modENCODE (model organism ENCyclopedia of DNA Elements) Project is to survey a diverse sampling of TRFs, both DNA-binding and non-DNA-binding factors, to provide a framework for the subsequent study of the mechanisms by which transcriptional regulators target the genome. Here we provide an updated map of the Drosophila melanogaster regulatory genome based on the location of 84 TRFs at various stages of development. This regulatory map reveals a variety of genomic targeting patterns, including factors with strong preferences toward proximal promoter binding, factors that target intergenic and intronic DNA, and factors with distinct chromatin state preferences. The data also highlight the stringency of the Polycomb regulatory network, and show association of the Trithorax-like (Trl) protein with hotspots of DNA binding throughout development. Furthermore, the data identify more than 5800 instances in which TRFs target DNA regions with demonstrated enhancer activity. Regions of high TRF co-occupancy are more likely to be associated with open enhancers used across cell types, while lower TRF occupancy regions are associated with complex enhancers that are also regulated at the epigenetic level. Together these data serve as a resource for the research community in the continued effort to dissect transcriptional regulatory mechanisms directing Drosophila development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Slattery
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Lijia Ma
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Rebecca F Spokony
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Robert K Arthur
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Pouya Kheradpour
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Anshul Kundaje
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Nicolas Nègre
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA; Université de Montpellier II and INRA, UMR1333 DGIMI, F-34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Alex Crofts
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Ryan Ptashkin
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Jennifer Zieba
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Alexander Ostapenko
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Sarah Suchy
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Alec Victorsen
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Nader Jameel
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - A Jason Grundstad
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Wenxuan Gao
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Jennifer R Moran
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - E Jay Rehm
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Robert L Grossman
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Manolis Kellis
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Kevin P White
- Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
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Slattery M, Zhou T, Yang L, Dantas Machado AC, Gordân R, Rohs R. Absence of a simple code: how transcription factors read the genome. Trends Biochem Sci 2014; 39:381-99. [PMID: 25129887 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2014.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 352] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2014] [Revised: 07/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) influence cell fate by interpreting the regulatory DNA within a genome. TFs recognize DNA in a specific manner; the mechanisms underlying this specificity have been identified for many TFs based on 3D structures of protein-DNA complexes. More recently, structural views have been complemented with data from high-throughput in vitro and in vivo explorations of the DNA-binding preferences of many TFs. Together, these approaches have greatly expanded our understanding of TF-DNA interactions. However, the mechanisms by which TFs select in vivo binding sites and alter gene expression remain unclear. Recent work has highlighted the many variables that influence TF-DNA binding, while demonstrating that a biophysical understanding of these many factors will be central to understanding TF function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Slattery
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN 55812, USA; Developmental Biology Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Tianyin Zhou
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Lin Yang
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ana Carolina Dantas Machado
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Raluca Gordân
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Departments of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Computer Science, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
| | - Remo Rohs
- Molecular and Computational Biology Program, Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
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Menoret D, Santolini M, Fernandes I, Spokony R, Zanet J, Gonzalez I, Latapie Y, Ferrer P, Rouault H, White KP, Besse P, Hakim V, Aerts S, Payre F, Plaza S. Genome-wide analyses of Shavenbaby target genes reveals distinct features of enhancer organization. Genome Biol 2013; 14:R86. [PMID: 23972280 PMCID: PMC4053989 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-8-r86] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2013] [Accepted: 08/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Developmental programs are implemented by regulatory interactions between Transcription Factors (TFs) and their target genes, which remain poorly understood. While recent studies have focused on regulatory cascades of TFs that govern early development, little is known about how the ultimate effectors of cell differentiation are selected and controlled. We addressed this question during late Drosophila embryogenesis, when the finely tuned expression of the TF Ovo/Shavenbaby (Svb) triggers the morphological differentiation of epidermal trichomes. Results We defined a sizeable set of genes downstream of Svb and used in vivo assays to delineate 14 enhancers driving their specific expression in trichome cells. Coupling computational modeling to functional dissection, we investigated the regulatory logic of these enhancers. Extending the repertoire of epidermal effectors using genome-wide approaches showed that the regulatory models learned from this first sample are representative of the whole set of trichome enhancers. These enhancers harbor remarkable features with respect to their functional architectures, including a weak or non-existent clustering of Svb binding sites. The in vivo function of each site relies on its intimate context, notably the flanking nucleotides. Two additional cis-regulatory motifs, present in a broad diversity of composition and positioning among trichome enhancers, critically contribute to enhancer activity. Conclusions Our results show that Svb directly regulates a large set of terminal effectors of the remodeling of epidermal cells. Further, these data reveal that trichome formation is underpinned by unexpectedly diverse modes of regulation, providing fresh insights into the functional architecture of enhancers governing a terminal differentiation program.
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